List of bufotoxins

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Some bufo secretions are toxic

The toxic substances found in toads can be divided by chemical structure in two groups:

  1. bufadienolides, which are cardiac glycosides (e.g., bufotalin, bufogenin)
  2. tryptamine-related substances (e.g., bufotenin)
Ingestion of digoxin-like cardiac glycosides can be fatal. Ingestion of Bufo toad poison and eggs by humans has resulted in several reported cases of poisoning,[1][2][3] some of which resulted in death. A court case in Spain, involving a physician who dosed people with smoked Mexican Toad poison, one of his customers died after inhaling three doses, instead of the usual of only one, had images of intoxicated with this smoke suffering obvious hypocalcemic hand muscular spasms.[3][4][5]

Species

Toads known to secrete bufotoxins.[6]

Toads frequently "milked"

Despite being a frequent target for milking, these toads still carry cardio toxic bufotoxins which have been linked to deaths.

Other toads

The effects of the bufotoxins in these toads are not well understood.

External links

References

  1. Hitt M, Ettinger DD (June 1986). "Toad toxicity". The New England Journal of Medicine. 314 (23): 1517–1518. doi:10.1056/NEJM198606053142320. PMID 3702971. 
  2. Ragonesi DL (1990). "The boy who was all hopped up". Contemporary Pediatrics. 7: 91–4. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 Brubacher JR, Ravikumar PR, Bania T, Heller MB, Hoffman RS (November 1996). "Treatment of toad toxin poisoning with digoxin-specific Fab fragments". Chest. 110 (5): 1282–1288. doi:10.1378/chest.110.5.1282. PMID 8915235. 
  4. Gowda RM, Cohen RA, Khan IA (April 2003). "Toad venom poisoning: resemblance to digoxin toxicity and therapeutic implications". Heart. 89 (4): 14e–14. doi:10.1136/heart.89.4.e14. PMC 1769273Freely accessible. PMID 12639891. 
  5. Lever, Christopher (2001). The Cane Toad: The History and Ecology of a Successful Colonist. Westbury Academic & Scientific Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84103-006-7.