Occurrence of bufotenin in the Osteocephalus genus (Anura: Hylidae)

Bufotenin (5-hydroxy- N, N-dimetyltryptamine) is a tryptamine alkaloid widely spread among anuran families as a component of their chemical defense system, acting as a potent hallucinogenic factor, showing similar activity to LSD upon interaction with the 5HT ₂ human receptor. This work demonstrates the presence of bufotenin in the skin secretion of three arboreal amphibian species of the Osteocephalus genus ( Osteocephalus taurinus, Osteocephalus oophagus and Osteocephalus langsdorffii) from the Amazon and the Atlantic rain forests using RP-HPLC, ESI–MS/MS, UV, IR and multidimensional NMR techniques. To our knowledge, this is the first description of bufotenin in the Osteocephalus genus, so far.