Batrachotoxin (BTX) is an extremely potent steroidal alkyl neurotoxin most famously associated with Poison Dart frogs of Central and South America. A fatal dose of BTX is estimated to be less than 200µg for an adult human. Its mechanism of action is to permanently bind to voltage-gated sodium channels in nerve cells, preventing their closure. This allows the concentrations of positively charged sodium ions to equalize on both the interior and exterior of the nerve cell membrane, permanently depolarizing the cell and preventing electrical transmission. Symptoms of BTX poisoning include numbness, salvation, shortness of breath or labored breathing (dyspnea), strong muscle contractions, violent convulsions, fibrillation, arrhythmias, heart failure, and death.
Posted by 