ABSTRACT
Batrachotoxins are neurotoxins of the steroidal alkaloid class which are primarily discovered in poison-dart frogs, birds, and beetles, and is mainly found in their skin, extracts, feathers, etc. Batrachotoxin is highly poisons in nature (250 times more toxic than strychnine) and is primarily used for poisoning dart tips in blowguns by Native Americans. Batrachotoxin inhibits the sodium channel function in nerve and muscle cells as it tend to bind specifically to voltage-gated channels of sodium in nerves and membranes of muscle and thus obstructs the conveying of electrical impulses throughout the body, resulting in animals suffering from fibrillation, arrhythmias, heart collapse, and death. Batrachotoxins’ structure consists of a steroid skeleton and oxazapane ring. The batrachotoxin has a lethal dose of (LD50) of 2 μg/kg in mice. Because of its ability to keep voltage-gated sodium channels open as well as its actions at other ligand-binding sites, it is an essential research tool in pharmacology. It has been regularly used in research of ion channel and ligand. Currently, it is not used in medical clinical trials due to its highly toxic nature; it is seen as very risky to use for clinical objectives. Secondly, no commercial sources are available for batrachotoxins and no commercially viable synthetic pathways. Owing to the recent advancements in medical history, batrachotoxin may one day be used as an active ingredient in pain killer ointments.
