162 PHYTOTOXINS AXD ZOOTOXiys 



and it is extremely active. The toad is relative!}^ immune to bufagiu, 

 but not at all to the epinephrine. A Chinese drug derived from toad 

 skins has been found to contain similar ing-redients (Shimizu"^), as 

 well as a substance resembling picrotoxin in action. 



Salamanders also produce poisonous secretions in their dermal 

 glands, which have been studied especially b}^ Faust,'* and earlier 

 by Zalesk}^,'^^ who isolated an organic base which he named saman- 

 darin. Faust describes samandarin as first stimulating and then 

 paralyzing the automatic centers in the medulla. The poison resem- 

 bles the alkaloids, having the formula C2,;Il4„N.O, and produces death 

 in doses of 0.7-0.9 mg. per kilo (dogs) with respirator}^ failure. Im- 

 munization of rabbits was practically impossible. A second alkaloid, 

 samandaridin (CooH-jiNO) is also present in even greater quantities 

 than the samandarin, and differs only in being weaker. 



Fro^s also have similar poisons in their skins, extracts of Rena es- 

 cidenta skin being highly toxic."'' The dermal secretions of most of 

 the amphibians are poisonous, not only for mammals, but also for rep- 

 tiles, and in large doses for the animals producing them (Phisalix)." 

 Bert '^^ and also Dutartre '^^ have described a digitalis-like poison in 

 the secretion of the dermal glands of frogs. 



It is evident that all these poisons are quite distinct from the 

 venoms, and from the tn^e toxins, apparently being simple chemical 

 compounds not related to the proteins and not capable of causing im- 

 munization. 



POISONOUS FISH SI 



There are numerous fish, especially in tropical waters, which de- 

 fend themselves by injecting poisons into their enemies. This is ac- 

 complished by spines, to which are attached poison glands.^- Dun- 

 bar-Brunton ^^ has described two such fish (Trachinis draco and Scor- 

 pcena scorpha) of Mediterranean waters. Wounds by these spines 

 cause in animals intense local irritation and edema and paralysis of 

 the part, followed by gangrene about the site of the wound; in fatal 

 poisoning death occurs in from one to sixteen hours, with general par- 

 alysis. The sufferings of persons so poisoned are said to be extreme, 

 and death may occur either directly from the poison or later from sep- 

 sis following the local gangrene. Presumably this poison is not dissim- 

 ilar to that of the snakes; it probably is not an alkaloid, as Dunbar- 



73a .Tour. Pharmacol., 1910 (S). .347. 



74Arfh. pxpor. Patli. ii. l^liarm., 1S9S (41). 229 (litoraturo) : 1900 (43), 84. 



75 Hoppe-Seyier's Med. Chein. T'litrrsucli., 1801!, p. 8."i. 



70 Caspar! and Loowy, Med. Klinik. 1911 (7), 1204. 



77 .Jour. Phvs. et Path, pen., 1910 (12), 325. 



78Compt. Pend. Soc. Biol., 188,5, p. 524. 



T^Ihid., 1890, p. 199. 



81 Full discussion and literature given by Faust. "Tierische Gifte." p. 134. 



82 For a list of fish with poison {glands see Pawlowskv, Zool. .Tahrb., 1912 (.31), 

 529. 



83 Lancet, 189G (ii), 000. 



