Bufotoxin


Bufotoxins are a family of toxic steroid lactones or substituted Tryptamines of which some may or may not be toxic. They occur in the parotoid glands, skin and venom of many toads and other amphibians, and in some plants and mushrooms. 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 suberylarginine.
The toxic substances found in toads can be divided by chemical structure in two groups:
  1. bufadienolides, which are cardiac glycosides
  2. tryptamine-related substances
Toads known to secrete bufotoxin include the following:
Extract from the skin of certain Asian toads, such as Bufo bufo gargarizans and Bufo melanostictus, is often found in certain Chinese folk remedies. The Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China considers the two species valid sources of toad venom, and requires the dry product to contain at least 6% of cinobufagin and resibufogenin combined by weight. The extract is obtained by squeezing the parotoid glands of caught, washed toads for a white venom and drying; the final dried venom is usually brown, with a chunk or flake form.