Bufotoxin
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This article appears to contradict itself about whether "bufotoxin" refers only to the steroids or to all toxic substances found in toad venom. (March 2014) |
Bufotoxins are a family of toxic steroid lactones found in the parotoid glands, skin and poison of many toads (genus Bufo); other amphibians; and some plants and mushrooms.[1][2][3] The exact composition varies greatly with the specific source of the toxin. It can contain: 5-MeO-DMT, bufagins, bufalin, bufotalin, bufotenin, bufothionine, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. The term bufotoxin can also be used specifically to describe the conjugate of a bufagin with suberylargine.[4]
The toxic substances found in toads can be divided by chemical structure in two groups:
- bufadienolides which are cardiac glycosides (e.g. bufotalin, bufogenin)
- tryptamine related substances (e.g. bufotenin)
Toads known to secrete bufotoxin are:[citation needed]
- Bufo alvarius
- Bufo americanus
- Bufo arenarum
- Bufo asper
- Bufo blombergi
- Bufo boreas
- Bufo bufo
- Bufo bufo gargarizans
- Bufo Gutturalis
- Bufo formosus
- Bufo fowleri
- Rhinella marina (formerly Bufo marinus)
- Bufo melanostictus
- Bufo peltocephalus
- Bufo quercicus
- Bufo regularis
- Bufo valliceps
- Bufo viridis
- Bufo vulgaris
Extraction[edit]
Extract from the skin of certain Asian toads, such as Bufo bufo gargarizans, is often found in certain Chinese folk remedies.[citation needed]
References[edit]
- ^ Siperstein MD, Murray AW, Titus E (March 1957). "Biosynthesis of cardiotonic sterols from cholesterol in the toad, Bufo marinus". Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics. 67 (1): 154–60. doi:10.1016/0003-9861(57)90254-0. PMID 13412129.
- ^ Lincoff, Gary; Mitchel, Duane H. (1977). Toxic and Hallucinogenic Mushroom Poisoning: A Handbook for Physicians and Mushroom Hunters. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. ISBN 978-0-442-24580-1.[page needed]
- ^ Kißmer, B.; Wichtl, M. (1986). "Bufadienolide aus Samen von Helleborus odorus" [Bufadienolides from the Seeds of Helleborus odorus]. Planta Medica (in German). 52 (2): 152–3. doi:10.1055/s-2007-969103.
- ^ Chen KK, Kovaríková A (December 1967). "Pharmacology and toxicology of toad venom". Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 56 (12): 1535–41. doi:10.1002/jps.2600561202. PMID 4871915.
External links[edit]
- http://www.californiaherps.com/frogs/pages/b.b.boreas.html
- http://www.erowid.org/animals/toads/toads_health1.shtml
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