Batrachotoxin is one of the most toxic sustances known to man.
Layman's explanation:Batrachotoxin is one of the four known steroid toxins that a brightly colored frog species of South America, known as the “Poison arrow” or Poison dart” frog (species Phyllobates terribilis) uses for defense. They brightly colored. It is one of the most toxic naturally occurring compounds known to man, the estimated lethal dose is between 2 to 100 micrograms (a frog can store and secrete about 1900 micrograms). The poison was used on blow gun dart tips by hunters to kill prey and is much more potent than other common arrow poisons such from plants (e.g., Curarea or Stychnos). It is believed that the frog does not produce the toxin itself, instead it accumulates it by eating certain insects, which may obtain the toxin from a plant. The crystal structure of a Batrachotoxin derivative was first published by Isabella and Jerome Karle in 1969.
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