Bufotenin occurrence

Occurrence Since most A. are nerve poisons they cannot form in larger amounts in the animal world, except in skin glands where they are excreted for specific purposes as neurotoxins (e.g. the amphibian venoms samandarine and other salamander alkaloids, tetrod-otoxin, batrachotoxins, bufotenine and other toad poisons, glomerine, serotonine, histamine, tyra-mine and other biogenic amines). Most A. occur in plants as by-products of amino acid metabolism where they are mostly stored in peripheral parts of the plant (leaves, roots, barks, fruits) and much less frequently in the wood. A. occur only rarely as free bases in plants and are mostly found as salts with oxalic, acetic, lactic, and citric acids, etc. Some higher plant families are... 

The occurrence of A (,iVj-dimethyltryptamine in Lespedeza bicolor var. japonica has been substantiated, and other bases have been isolated. These include iVa-methoxy-iVjiVj-dimethyltryptamine (lespedamine) (III), a base not previously encountered from natural sources, bufotenine, and 5-methoxy-Aj.,iVi-dimethyltryptamine (16,17). It is of interest that the crude plant extracts and iVjiVj-dimethyltryptamine are reported to exhibit uterus-contracting properties (27). 

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