Occurrence of bufotenin in the Osteocephalus genus (Anura: Hylidae).
Toxicon : official journal of the International Society on Toxinology September 15, 2005 T O G Costa, R A V Morales, J P Brito et al. 16 citations
Bufotenin, a tryptamine alkaloid with hallucinogenic properties similar to LSD, was identified in the skin secretions of three arboreal frog species from the Osteocephalus genus: Osteocephalus taurinus, Osteocephalus oophagus, and Osteocephalus langsdorffii, found in the Amazon and Atlantic rain forests. This is the first report of bufotenin in this genus. The compound acts as a component of the frogs' chemical defense system and interacts with the 5HT2 human receptor. The identification was confirmed using multiple analytical techniques including RP-HPLC, ESI-MS/MS, UV, IR, and multidimensional NMR.