Comparative study of the chemical profile of the parotoid gland secretions from Rhaebo guttatus from different regions of the Brazilian Amazon

Toxicon. 2020 May:179:101-106. doi: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2020.03.005. Epub 2020 Mar 21.

Abstract

Amphibian cutaneous secretion has great potential for bioprospection and is a great tool in the development of bioproducts. Thus, the objective of the present work was to evaluate the comparative study of the chemical profile parotoid gland secretions from Rhaebo guttatus collected in two distinct regions of the Brazilian Amazon. For this, the chemical composition of six methanolic extracts of this species were analyzed by Liquid Chromatography in UV and MS Detection Ultra-Chromatography Systems (UFLC-DAD-micrOTOF). All obtained chromatograms presented two distinct regions; one referring to the more hydrophilic molecules (alkaloids), while the other refers to the more hydrophobic compounds (steroids). The steroid region resembles all samples, regardless of where they were collected. In the alkaloid region, there was a standardized variation for the samples from the southern Brazilian Amazon, but the same was not true for the samples collected in the Amazon-Cerrado transition region. Thus, the data suggest that the environment and diet of R. guttatus may be important in alkaloid production, but do not influence steroid content. These results add new information about the poison of the toad R. guttatus and raises new questions to be further investigated, thus contributing to the knowledge of the anuran fauna of the Brazilian Amazon.

Keywords: Amazon; Bufonidae; Chemical profile; Methanolic extracts; Rhaebo guttatus.

MeSH terms

  • Alkaloids
  • Animals
  • Brazil
  • Bufonidae / metabolism*
  • Parotid Gland / metabolism*
  • Skin
  • Steroids

Substances

  • Alkaloids
  • Steroids