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Toad Poison and Drug Discovery

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Toxins and Drug Discovery

Part of the book series: Toxinology ((TOXI))

Abstract

In this chapter, the potential medical-pharmaceutical use of molecules derived from toad skin secretions is discussed. Over the past decades, numerous bioactive components from toad poisons, with diverse biological activities, have been studied. They present diversified chemical structures, such as steroids, alkaloids, peptides, proteins, and biogenic amines. Toad poison components are the result of pharmacological and biochemical refinement that occurred during the process of evolution, which made them highly effective. They present a broad spectrum of physiological and defense functions. The dried secretion from the skin glands of toads has been used clinically for over a millennium as an anodyne cardiotonic, antimicrobial, local anesthetic, and antineoplastic agent. The discovery of poison components with biological activity, such as anticancer, antimicrobial, antiviral, antiparasitic, modulators of blood coagulation, neurotransmission, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory, among others, aiming to discover new drugs, is a challenge. However, despite the difficulties, these studies have been conducted and many poison components with therapeutic potential have been identified.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo Av. do Café, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil

    Elisa Correa Fornari Baldo, Fernando Antonio Pino Anjolette, Eliane Candiani Arantes & Mateus Amaral Baldo

Authors
  1. Elisa Correa Fornari Baldo
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  2. Fernando Antonio Pino Anjolette
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  3. Eliane Candiani Arantes
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  4. Mateus Amaral Baldo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mateus Amaral Baldo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines

    Lourdes J. Cruz

  2. Key Laboratory of Tropical Biological Resources, Ministry of Education, Key Lab for Marine Drugs of Haikou Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, China

    Sulan Luo

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© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Baldo, E.C.F., Anjolette, F.A.P., Arantes, E.C., Baldo, M.A. (2017). Toad Poison and Drug Discovery. In: Cruz, L., Luo, S. (eds) Toxins and Drug Discovery. Toxinology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6452-1_16

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