Occurrence of bufotenin in the Osteocephalus genus (Anura: Hylidae).
T O G Costa, R A V Morales, J P Brito, M Gordo, A C Pinto, C Bloch
Toxicon : official journal of the International Society on Toxinology September 15, 2005 DOI: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2005.02.006 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Descriptive laboratory study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Skin secretions from three Osteocephalus species (Osteocephalus taurinus, Osteocephalus oophagus, and Osteocephalus langsdorffii) |
| Keywords | Amphibian chemical defenses Frog toxins Amphibian venoms Defensive secretions Natural defenses Bufotenin discovery Bufotenin identification Hallucinogen discovery Natural bufotenin Rainforest frogs Amazonian frogs Atlantic rainforest amphibians Arboreal frogs Tree frogs Osteocephalus research Osteocephalus studies Frog research Genus osteocephalus Natural hallucinogens Psychoactive compounds |
| Citations | 16 |
| Key points | Bufotenin was identified for the first time in the skin secretions of three Osteocephalus frog species from the Amazon and Atlantic rain forests. |
Abstract
Bufotenin (5-hydroxy-N,N-dimetyltryptamine) is a tryptamine alkaloid widely spread among anuran families as a component of their chemical defense system, acting as a potent hallucinogenic factor, showing similar activity to LSD upon interaction with the 5HT2 human receptor. This work demonstrates the presence of bufotenin in the skin secretion of three arboreal amphibian species of the Osteocephalus genus (Osteocephalus taurinus, Osteocephalus oophagus and Osteocephalus langsdorffii) from the Amazon and the Atlantic rain forests using RP-HPLC, ESI-MS/MS, UV, IR and multidimensional NMR techniques. To our knowledge, this is the first description of bufotenin in the Osteocephalus genus, so far.