Bufotoxin

Bufotoxins are a family of toxic steroid lactones. They occur in the parotoid glands, skin and poison of many toads (genus Bufo) and other amphibians, and in 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:

Toads known to secrete bufotoxin are:^{[citation needed]}

Extraction

Extract from the skin of certain Asian toads, such as Bufo bufo gargarizans, is often found in certain Chinese folk remedies.^{[citation needed]}

^ 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.

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