Friday, October 12, 2007

Off! Brought to you by frogs

Insect skin repellents are one of the most popular products use by Americans every summer. A recent scientific experiment conducted on a bottle-green Australian frog of the Litoria Caerulea specie, which is found in forests near the northern parts of New Guinea and Australia, suggested that the secretion released through its skin has the same affect as the active ingredient found in popular insect repellents, also known as DEET.

Scientists were able to obtain a sample of the frog’s secretion by using a gentle zapping current, causing the contraction of the skin glands to release the fluid. The fluid was later applied on a mice’s tail where it remained clear for 50 minutes after being exposed to Culex annulisrostris mosquitoes. Aside from being an insect repellent, previous relevant studies suggested that the secretion release also has the ability to act as a painkiller and hallucinogen.

It is a known fact that toads and frogs use this as a defense mechanism in order to protect themselves from fungus and insect pest, but would humans also be able to benefit from this? Further research will be necessary to determine if it is safe to produce frog secretion as a pharmaceutical product.

http://animal.discovery.com/news/afp/20060227/frog.html

Posted by Vanessa Raphaël (3)

4 Comments:

At 9:40 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is a very interesting article, although the discovery does not surprise me much. So many useful things have been discovered in the rainforests of the world. Even something as simple as bug repellent is an excellent example of why we need to stop chopping down such rich landscapes. Who knows, the next find could be the cure for cancer. I would question this secretion's safety though, as many frogs are known to produce toxic poisons.

Posted by: Ben Tummino (3)

 
At 11:56 AM, Blogger PWH said...

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At 11:56 AM, Blogger PWH said...

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At 11:58 AM, Blogger PWH said...

I would like to know more about how this particular secretion is beneficial to the frogs. I was under the impression that frogs like to eat insects, so it seems as though secreting an insect repellant would lead to a decrease in the amount of available insects to eat. It makes sense that it would be a defense mechanism in case another animal tried to eat it and the secretion probably tastes horrible. I am also curious if any medical research has been done on the possible benefits of this secretion as a painkiller. Great article!

posted by: Dan O'Halloran (3)

 

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