METHOD OF QUANTIFYING NEUROTOXIN

摘要

A method of quantitatively measuring the muscle relaxant action of a neurotoxin. More specifically speaking, a method of quantifying the efficacy (titer and/or diffusion reaction) of a neurotoxin based on the degree of the muscle relaxant action of a neurotoxin originating in a bacterium belonging to the genus Clostridium, which is characterized by comprising: (a) administering the neurotoxin to one hinder leg of a nonhuman mammal; (b) electrically stimulating the nonhuman mammal; (c) measuring the compound muscle action potential (CMAP) caused by the contraction of muscles in the hinder leg to which the neurotoxin has been administered and/or muscles in the other hinder leg to which the neurotoxin has not been administered by using an electromyograph; and (d) taking out the amplitude data from the compound muscle action potential (CMAP) obtained by the measurement in the step (c) and analyzing the degree of a decrease in the amplitude to thereby quantify the efficacy of the muscle relaxant action by the neurotoxin. Although mouse LD₅₀ ^{that ha}