The whitish venting of theSonoran Desert Toadcontains what may be the most strong psychedelic compound on Earth , yet research worker are yet to figure out how the rotund little animal grow its creative thinker - evaporate ooze . Seeking the source of the amphibian ’s stun secretions , the authors of an as - yet un - peer - reviewed study pumped the stomachs of XII of toads , discover a weird and wonderful assortment of devoured items .
Known by its Latin nameIncilius alvarius , the Sonoran Desert Toad is the only get laid creature that bring on the psychedelic compound5 - MeO - DMT . When smoked , this kernel generates a short - subsist yetincredibly powerful tripthat has been likened to infix an experiential " null " .
While it ’s unclear how the toad bring on the chemical compound , the study generator suspected that the animal ’s dieting - which consists of toxic ants and mallet - might hold some clues . They therefore flushed the stomach contents of 29 of the saucy little anurans hold out in and around Tucson , Arizona , and compare these to the bellied belonging of 21 other toads live the same area .
“ We get hold ant and beetle , many of which have chemical defence , to be the dominant prey items forI. alvarius , ” reveal the researcher . Some of the toads had also swallow spiders and WASP , while one daring individual had din on an Arizona bark Scorpio , “ whose bunko is extremely painful and potentially lethal to human beings . ” Another , meanwhile , had chowed down on a bullet casing .
Interestingly , some of the ants in the batrachian ’ diet were from thePogonomyrmexgenus , which contains legion metal money that are known to produce psychedelic effects when eaten . However , the termination of this written report indicated thatI. alvariusdoes not go through these ants in sufficient quantities to provide a major source of 5 - MeO - DMT .
The researchers also observe that several non - psychedelic toad species were also find to have eaten the same ant , and that Sonoran Desert Toads from different environment have highly diverging diets , yet still produce 5 - MeO - DMT in exchangeable sum . Overall , these findings “ suggest that a direct dietetic reservoir of 5 - MeO - DMT is unlikely in Sonoran Desert salientian , ” conclude the study author .
Having reign out ants , beetles , scorpions , wasps , and even fastball as the elemental ingredient in psychedelic toad slime , the researchers are left to speculate on the line of this trippy residual . Previously , it has been suggest that the animate being may generate the compound using an enzyme called 5 - Hydroxyindole - group O - methyltransferase , and while the comportment of this catalyst has not been confirmed inI. alvarius , the authors recognize that this could be the answer .
For now , though , all that we know for certain about Sonoran Desert Toads is that their number are dwindling due to excess harvesting of their psychedelic gook . So pleasedon’t milk the toads .
The study is currently usable as a preprint onBioRxiv .
