image by: David Victor Russell

HWN Suggests

The frog poison that killed Alexei Navalny likely lab-made

Many animal and plant toxins have been formulated into beneficial drugs, painkillers and continue to be researched for potential treatments for hard-to-treat illnesses like cancer. So it was that epibatidine was investigated for possible human benefit as a potential non-addictive painkiller. But the toxin is so powerful, with little difference between its lethal to non-lethal doses, that pharmacists have been unable to develop it into a feasible painkiller for humans. It is known that epibatidine: Is about 200 times more powerful than morphine. At toxic levels, causes seizures and paralysis of the lung muscles, leading to asphyxiation.

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 What is the dart frog toxin allegedly used to kill Alexei Navalny?

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was killed using a deadly toxin found in poison dart frogs in South America, the UK and some of its European allies have said. Traces of epibatidine were found in samples from Navalny's body and highly likely resulted in his death in a Siberian penal colony two years ago, the UK Foreign Office said. The allies said only the Russian state had the "means, motive and opportunity" to deploy this lethal toxin. The Kremlin dismissed the finding as "an information campaign", according to Tass news agency.

Articles of Interest

All About the Poison Dart Frog: Weird and Wonderful Facts

Not all poison dart frogs are poisonous, but those that are poisonous tend to be highly toxic; they’re not even safe to handle. To put this toxicity into perspective, the most poisonous of the lot is the golden poison frog (Phyllobates terribilis), which is thought to have enough toxin in its skin to kill 20,000 mice or 20 fully-grown people. Poison dart frogs get their name from Native Americans, who would use their toxic secretions to deadly effect by applying them to blow darts, used for hunting. To hammer home their deadly nature, the herpetologist who discovered the Golden poison frog gave them the name Phyllobates terribilis.

Chemists Re-Create Deadly Frog Poison In The Lab

"Oh yeah, it's one of the more lethal poisons on the planet," says Justin Du Bois, a synthetic chemist at Stanford University. The substance is called batrachotoxin (buh-TRAK-uh-TOX-in), and tiny amounts of it can be deadly if it makes it into a victim's bloodstream. It's what some indigenous groups in Colombia's lowland rain forest would use to tip their blow darts. And, as Du Bois and his colleagues write Thursday in the journal Science, they figured out how to make it in the lab in 24 steps. Why on Earth would anyone want to do that?

It’s raining tiny toxic frogs

Two new dime-sized poison dart species discovered deep in the Amazon.

Navalny Was Poisoned With Frog Toxin, European Governments Say

Samples taken from Mr. Navalny’s body showed the presence of a toxic substance, epibatidine, according to a statement released by the foreign ministries of Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. “Epibatidine is a toxin found in poison dart frogs in South America. It is not found naturally in Russia,” the statement read. “Only the Russian government had the means, motive and opportunity to deploy this lethal toxin against Alexei Navalny during his imprisonment in Russia,” it read.

Poison Dart Frogs

Dendrobatids include some of the most toxic animals on Earth. The two-inch-long golden poison frog has enough poison to kill 10 grown men. Indigenous Emberá people of Colombia have used its powerful poison for centuries to tip their blowgun darts when hunting, hence the genus' common name. Scientists are unsure of the source of poison dart frogs' toxicity, but it is possible they assimilate plant poisons which are carried by their prey, including ants, termites and beetles. Poison dart frogs raised in captivity and isolated from insects in their native habitat never develop poison.

Russia poisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny with dart frog toxin, five European nations say

Epibatidine is found naturally in dart frogs in the wild, and can also be manufactured in a lab, which European scientists suspect was the case with the substance used on Navalny. It works on the body in a similar way to nerve agents, causing shortness of breath, convulsions, seizures, a slowed heart rate and ultimately death.

Russian Opposition Leader Navalny Poisoned With Deadly ‘Dart Frog’ Toxin, European Governments Say

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the poisoning shows that “Vladimir Putin is prepared to use chemical weapons against his own people to remain in power. France pays tribute to this opposition figure, killed for his fight in favor of a free and democratic Russia.”

The deadly poison lurking in a frog the size of your fingernail

One of the most interesting features of many of these frogs is their orange skin colour, warning predators of the poisonous molecule they contain for their defence against bigger foes. The poisonous molecule they contain is well known and goes by the name of tetrodotoxin. The lethal dose to a human is a fraction of a milligram – it’s many times more poisonous than cyanide. It works by blocking channels in the membrane of nerve cells.

What is dart frog toxin, which is said to have been used to kill Alexei Navalny?

Epibatidine is about 100 times more potent than morphine, and derived from frogs native to South America

Why Do Poison Dart Frogs ‘Tap Dance’ With Their Toes? Research Sheds Light on Feeding Time Footwork

The animal kingdom has no shortage of dance moves, from flamingoes’ synchronized sashays to the waltzes of scorpions. But none are quite like the tap dancing that scientists have observed in poison dart frogs: These amphibians reserve their moves not for potential mates, but for prey.

Why Do Poison Dart Frogs ‘Tap Dance’ With Their Toes? Research Sheds Light on Feeding Time Footwork

The animal kingdom has no shortage of dance moves, from flamingoes’ synchronized sashays to the waltzes of scorpions. But none are quite like the tap dancing that scientists have observed in poison dart frogs: These amphibians reserve their moves not for potential mates, but for prey.

Why Do Poison Dart Frogs ‘Tap Dance’ With Their Toes? Research Sheds Light on Feeding Time Footwork

The animal kingdom has no shortage of dance moves, from flamingoes’ synchronized sashays to the waltzes of scorpions. But none are quite like the tap dancing that scientists have observed in poison dart frogs: These amphibians reserve their moves not for potential mates, but for prey.

Why Navalny dart frog poison announcement was deliberately timed

It is doubtful that the efforts by Yvette Cooper, the British foreign secretary, and her German, Swedish and Danish counterparts, who made the poisoning announcement, along with Mr Navalny's widow, will deter the Kremlin from such allegedly ruthless action in the future.

Why Russia uses poison to silence enemies like Alexei Navalny

Revelations that dart frog toxin was used to kill the dissident will come as no surprise to those who know the Kremlin’s dark history of assassination.