Thursday, July 12, 2007

Mind the frog

The Golden Poison Frog (Phyllobates terribilis) found in the South America's jungles has poison which contains the most potent toxin produced by an animal, called Batrachotoxin, with LD50 1 to 2 µg/kg. The lethal dose for human in the blood stream is approximately 100 micrograms or weight, which is the equivalent of two grains of fine table salt. A wild adult specimen has up to 2 milligrams of the toxin, or 50 times the lethal dose for the humans. Currently there is no effective antidote and treatment for batrachotoxin poisoning doesn't exist. Shot with poison darts made from batrachotoxin provoke nerve paralysis almost instantaneous. The poison preserve quality even dried up for nearly 2 years. However in captivity this frog will lose the poison and will become harmless.

Source: Wikipedia

No comments: