Toads , and

Terms Kelating to Materials for Toads and Pavements, ASTM Designation D8, American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, Pa., 1976. 

The production of HCN by animals is almost exclusively restricted to various arthropods 7 species of about 3000 species of centipedes 46 of 2500 species of polydesmid millipedes and 10 of 750,000 species of insects, including 3 species of beetles, 4 moths, and 3 butterflies (Duffey 1981). Millipedes — which are eaten frequently by toads and starlings — secrete cyanide for... 

Chemicals that cycle in abundance are obvious candidates for consideration as pheromones. Armed with effective analytical techniques we can address the issue of cane toad chemical plasticity with respect to different variables (Table 39.1). We will also investigate the impact of crude and fractionated secretions on the behavior of cane toads, and compare these responses between the same groupings of animals, i.e. sex, life-stage, season etc. We have identified three stages in the cane toad life cycle that are likely controlled by chemical signals, and are an ideal place to start attempting to disrupt their chemical ecology. 

Both the African hedgehog, Atelerixpruneri, and the long-eared hedgehog of Asia, Hemiechinus auritus, use defense secretions of toads. The animal takes the secretion up into its mouth and then licks its spines. The spines then become covered with frothy saliva. This behavior does not depend on learning and is released by several species of toads and salamanders, and even by substances such as tobacco Juice (Brodie, 1977). 

Bufotenine was isolated from skin and parotid gland of the toad Bufo vulgaris in 1893, and from plants and mushrooms. It is also foimd in the toad Bufo marinus that lives in the southern part of the United States and the Caribbean, and in Bufo alvarius, found in the southwestern United States. Amazon explorers had described poisoning by toad and mushroom preparations more than 400 years ago. Street names include black stone, Chan Su, Chinese love stones, cohoba, rock hard. Stud 100, and toad. 

Dehydrobufotenine There is a covalent bond formed between the dimethylated nitrogen atom and the indolic 4-position, by the theoretical removal of a molecule of hydrogen. It is no longer a simple tryptamine but as it is a commonly found component of the chemistry of several toads, and a few giant reeds as well, it is included here. It is, by definition, a quaternary amine salt. 

Norbufotenine (5-hydroxy-N-methyltryptamine, N-methylserotonin, 5-OH-NMT) This base is scattered in both the animal and the plant kingdoms. It has been found in quite a few toads and in barley shoots. It has been isolated from the herb Desmodium pulchellum. This is an interesting twilight compound lying halfway between a notorious toxin (bufotenine) and a vital neurotransmitter (serotonin). And it is unexplored, for shame. It has been detected in the urine... 

There are a couple more entries for 5-MeO-DMT, one very important one, and the other quite trivial. There is a drug-use phenomenon that is often referred to by the popular title of "toadlicking." The toad involved is the Sonora Desert Toad, also called the Colorado River Toad, and carries the binomial Bufo alverius. It is not the closely related marine toad Bufo marinus, as... 

One final thought on the matter of cane toads could the presence of a mind-altering substance in their skin have given rise to all those children s stories about the girl who kisses a toad and turns him into a prince Perhaps. Who knows what you re going to see after you kiss one of those hallucinogenic warty-skinned amphibians. 

High dilutions of drugs have been used on human patients for a couple of centuries, and animal experimentation has been done only to confirm their therapeutic effects and study their mode of action. High dilutions have been found to produce effects on such animals as rats, mice, birds, toads and fishes. The basic principle is to create a disease in the animals and test appropriate remedies on them. Some models like catalepsy and righting reflex ones are non-sacrifice animal models which can be easily used to test the biological effects of potentized drugs. Potentized Nux vomica significantly reduced alcohol intake in rats and reversed to some extent... 

Figure 12. Infra red (IR) spectra of 90% ethanol, Nux vom SO (unsuccussed) and Nux vom SO (succussed) in 90% ethanol obtained with an IR spectrometer (Hitachi, model 200-10). (Modified and reproduced, with permission, from Sukul et al. Nux vomica SO prepared with and without succussion shows antialcoholic effect on toads and distinctive molecular association. Br Horn J 2001 90 79-85. Copyright 2001 by Nature Publishing Group)...

Sukul NC, De A, Dutta (Nag) R, Sukul A, Sinhababu SP. 2001. Nux vomica 30 prepared with and without succussion shows anti-alcoholic effect on toads and distinctive molecular association. Hr Horn J90 79-85. 

Fox, W., H. C. Dessauer, and L. T. Maumus Electrophoretic studies of blood proteins of two species of toad and their natural hybrid. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 3, 52 (1961). 

Metamorphosis has also been extensively studied in amphibians, a class of vertebrates which includes frogs, toads, and salamanders. Amphibian means dual (amphi ) life form (-bian) and refers to the typical life history of these animals, in which an aquatic larva metamorphoses into a terrestrial adult. The reptiles, such as turtles, lizards, and snakes, is another class of vertebrates whose species superficially resemble adult amphibians, but do not undergo metamorphosis. 

MECC-TOAD also provides high sensitivity. A typical performance of this instrument under the conditions described above is shown in Figure 2. The detection limits calculated from Fig.2 range from 0.5 to 1.7 pM, which is equivalent to 1.4 to 4.6 fmol listed in Table I. In contrast, the HPLC-UV analyzers had about 1 pmol of mass detection limit and 2 iM concentration detection limit, provided that the injection volume was 50 pL [24]. Unfortunately, the volume mismatch between MECC-TOAD and available sequencers have limited the use of this reproducible and high sensitive technology. Therefore, miniaturization of the protein sequencer is essential. 

Slugs. See also Slugs and snails chervil and, 440 pear see Pear slugs) physical controls for, 429 Primula and, 192 Rosa and,205 toads and, 7-8... 

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