Navalny Toxin Likely Synthetic, Says Ecuadoran Dart Frog Expert

ETVBHARAT

San Rafael (Ecuador): An Ecuadoran scientist specialising in amphibians believes that the toxin suspected of being responsible for the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny was produced in a laboratory, rather than extracted from dart frogs that produce it naturally in South America. Luis Coloma, director of the Jambatu Centre for Amphibian Research and Conservation in Ecuador, said the neurotoxin epibatidine is primarily produced in laboratories for research purposes. He explained that the amount of toxin naturally found in frogs is extremely small.According to Coloma, extracting just one milligram of epibatidine would require the skin of around 750 frogs, making natural extraction highly impractical.He added that while there is an international market for poison dart frogs, including lab-bred specimens from Ecuadorian company Wikiri, the toxin itself is typically synthesised in controlled laboratory settings rather than sourced directly from wild amphibians. (with AFP inputs)

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00:00An Ecuadorian scientist says the toxin reportedly linked to the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was most likely

00:10produced in a laboratory.

00:12Louis Coloma, director of the Jambatu Center for Amphibian Research and Conservation in Ecuador, says epibetidine is mainly manufactured for

00:22research purposes.

00:33He explains that poison dart frogs naturally contain very small amounts of the toxin.

00:39According to him, extracting just one milligram would require the skin of about 750 frogs.

00:47This makes natural extraction highly difficult and unlikely.

00:53The doses that contain a wolf are low, they are very small amounts.

01:02Originally, to extract one milligram of epibetidine, they needed 750 wolves.

01:10Coloma also notes that there is a global market for poison dart frogs, including lab-bred species from Ecuador.

01:18In the United States, there is a global market of these monkeys.

01:23Ecuador also produces these monkeys through a company called Wikiri.

01:28This company exports these monkeys in laboratories to the international markets.

01:36However, he says, the toxin itself is typically synthesized in laboratories not taken directly from frogs in the wild.

01:44It has a cold and again.

01:45Thank you very much.

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