Cantharidin
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Cantharidin
Cantharidin is an odorless, colorless fatty substance of the terpenoid class, which is secreted by many species of blister beetles. It is a burn agent or a poison in large doses, but preparations containing it were historically used as aphrodisiacs (Spanish fly). In its natural form, cantharidin is secreted by the male blister beetle and given to the female as a copulatory gift during mating. Afterwards, the female beetle covers her eggs with it as a defense against predators. Poisoning from cantharidin is a significant veterinary concern, especially in horses, but it can also be poisonous to humans if taken internally (where the source is usually experimental self-exposure). Externally, cantharidin is a potent vesicant (blistering agent), exposure to which can cause severe chemical burns. Properly dosed and applied, the same properties have also been used therapeutically, for instance for treatment of skin conditions such as molluscum contagiosum infection of the skin. Cantharidi ...
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Cantharidin Biosynthesis2
Cantharidin is an odorless, colorless fatty substance of the terpenoid class, which is secreted by many species of blister beetles. It is a burn agent or a poison in large doses, but preparations containing it were historically used as aphrodisiacs (Spanish fly). In its natural form, cantharidin is secreted by the male blister beetle and given to the female as a copulatory gift during mating. Afterwards, the female beetle covers her eggs with it as a defense against predators. Poisoning from cantharidin is a significant veterinary concern, especially in horses, but it can also be poisonous to humans if taken internally (where the source is usually experimental self-exposure). Externally, cantharidin is a potent vesicant (blistering agent), exposure to which can cause severe chemical burns. Properly dosed and applied, the same properties have also been used therapeutically, for instance for treatment of skin conditions such as molluscum contagiosum infection of the skin. Cantharidi ...
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Lytta Vesicatoria
The Spanish fly (''Lytta vesicatoria'') is an aposematic emerald-green beetle in the blister beetle family (Meloidae). It is distributed across Eurasia. The species and others in its family were used in traditional apothecary preparations as "Cantharides". The insect is the source of the terpenoid cantharidin, a toxic blistering agent once used as an exfoliating agent, anti-rheumatic drug and an aphrodisiac. The substance has also found culinary use in some blends of the North African spice mix ''ras el hanout''. Its various supposed benefits have been responsible for accidental poisonings. Etymology and taxonomy The generic name is from the Greek λύττα (''lytta''), meaning martial rage, raging madness, Bacchic frenzy, or rabies. The specific name is derived from Latin ''vesica'', blister. ''Lytta vesicatoria'' was formerly named ''Cantharis vesicatoria'', although the genus ''Cantharis'' is in an unrelated family, Cantharidae, the soldier beetles. It was class ...
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Spanish Fly
The Spanish fly (''Lytta vesicatoria'') is an aposematic emerald-green beetle in the blister beetle family (Meloidae). It is distributed across Eurasia. The species and others in its family were used in traditional apothecary preparations as "Cantharides". The insect is the source of the terpenoid cantharidin, a toxic blistering agent once used as an exfoliating agent, anti-rheumatic drug and an aphrodisiac. The substance has also found culinary use in some blends of the North African spice mix ''ras el hanout''. Its various supposed benefits have been responsible for accidental poisonings. Etymology and taxonomy The generic name is from the Greek λύττα (''lytta''), meaning martial rage, raging madness, Bacchic frenzy, or rabies. The specific name is derived from Latin ''vesica'', blister. ''Lytta vesicatoria'' was formerly named ''Cantharis vesicatoria'', although the genus ''Cantharis'' is in an unrelated family, Cantharidae, the soldier beetles. It was class ...
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Blister Beetle
Blister beetles are beetles of the family Meloidae, so called for their defensive secretion of a blistering agent, cantharidin. About 7,500 species are known worldwide. Many are conspicuous and some are aposematically colored, announcing their toxicity to would-be predators. Description Blister beetles are hypermetamorphic, going through several larval stages, the first of which is typically a mobile triungulin. The larvae are insectivorous, mainly attacking bees, though a few feed on grasshopper eggs. While sometimes considered parasitoids, in general, the meloid larva apparently consumes the immature host along with its provisions, and can often survive on the provisions alone; thus it is not an obligatory parasitoid, but rather a facultative parasitoid, or simply a kleptoparasite. The adults sometimes feed on flowers and leaves of plants of such diverse families as the Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Solanaceae. Cantharidin, a poisonous chemical that causes bl ...
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Vesicant
A blister agent (or vesicant), is a chemical compound that causes severe skin, eye and mucosal pain and irritation. They are named for their ability to cause severe chemical burns, resulting in painful water blisters on the bodies of those affected. Although the term is often used in connection with large-scale burns caused by chemical spills or chemical warfare agents,Center for Disease Control
some naturally occurring substances such as are also blister-producing agents (vesicants).
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List Of Extremely Hazardous Substances
This is the list of extremely hazardous substances defined in Section 302 of the U.S. Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (42 U.S.C. 11002). The list can be found as an appendix to 40 C.F.R. 355. Updates as of 2006 can be seen on the Federal Register, 71 FR 47121 (August 16, 2006). The data were provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). __NOTOC__ A * Acetone cyanohydrin * Acetone thiosemicarbazide * Acrolein * Acrylamide * Acrylonitrile * Acryloyl chloride * Adiponitrile * Aldicarb * Aldrin * Allyl alcohol * Allylamine * Aluminum phosphide * Aminopterin * Amiton * Amiton oxalate * Ammonia * Amphetamine * Aniline * Aniline, 2,4,6-trimethyl- * Antimony pentafluoride * Antimycin A * ANTU (Alpha-Naphthylthiourea) * Arsenic pentoxide * Arsenous oxide * Arsenous trichloride * Arsine * Azinphos-ethyl * Azinphos-methyl B * Benzal chloride * Benzenamine, 3-(trifluoromethyl)- * Benzenearsonic acid * Benzimidazole, 4,5-dichloro-2-(tri ...
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Epicauta
''Epicauta'' is a genus of beetles in the blister beetle family, blister beetle, Meloidae. The genus was first scientifically described in 1834 by Pierre François Marie Auguste Dejean. ''Epicauta'' is distributed nearly worldwide, with species native to all continents except Australia and Antarctica.Kerr, J. T. and L. Packer. (1999)The environmental basis of North American species richness patterns among ''Epicauta'' (Coleoptera: Meloidae). ''Biodiversity & Conservation'' 8(5), 617-28. Surveys have found the genus to be particularly diverse in northern Arizona in the United States. Few species occur in the Arctic, with none farther north than the southern Northwest Territory of Canada. Adult beetles feed on plants. The larvae are predators on the eggs of grasshoppers. The beetles can significantly damage plants, and many ''Epicauta'' are known as agricultural pest (organism), pests around the world, even known to cause crop failures at times. As do other blister beetles, these pr ...
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Berberomeloe
''Berberomeloe'' is a genus within the tribe Lyttini of the family Meloidae, the oil or blister beetles. It includes two species, the red-striped oil beetle, ''Berberomeloe majalis'', and the less flamboyant '' Berberomeloe insignis''. Taxonomy Until recently these species were included in the genus ''Meloe'', which is treated in the tribe Meloini; the placement of what was previously called ''Meloe majalis'' instead in a genus within the tribe Lyttini was proposed by Bologna (1988) and has commanded general acceptance. As Bologna notes, it had long been known that the larval development of the red-stripted oil beetle was very different from that of most species placed in ''Meloe'', so that some authors treated it within the Lyttini genus '' Trichomeloe''. However the species does not fit into any other genus of Lyttini, having a unique combination of autapomorphic characters, namely reduced elytra, no wings and modified antennae, so Bologna proposed the new genus. Bologna en ...
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Berberomeloe Majalis
''Berberomeloe majalis'', the red-striped oil beetle, is an insect in the genus '' Berberomeloe'', in the family of Blister Beetles. It is native to the western Mediterranean Basin. Description It has a typical length around 5 cm (2 in.). Its large size and the bright red bands around its body make it unmistakable; its coloration is aposematic, reflecting its ability, in common with other oil or blister beetles in the family Meloidae, to squirt a caustic liquid if attacked. In Spain however this beetle varies extensively in color. Populations of entirely black specimens without any red markings are found scattered over much of the distribution range of ''B. majalis''. These populations are often found close to populations consisting of red-striped specimens, but both morphs seem to be spatially segregated and no mixed series have been found in the field. Entirely black and red-striped specimens of ''Berberomeloes majalis'' are equally poisonous. Distribution and habitat T ...
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Molluscum Contagiosum
Molluscum contagiosum (MC), sometimes called water warts, is a viral infection of the skin that results in small raised pink lesions with a dimple in the center. They may become itchy or sore, and occur singularly or in groups. Any area of the skin may be affected, with abdomen, legs, arms, neck, genital area, and face being the most common. Onset of the lesions is around seven weeks after infection. They usually go away within a year without scarring. The infection is caused by a poxvirus called the '' molluscum contagiosum virus'' (MCV). The virus is spread either by direct contact, including sexual activity, or via contaminated objects such as towels. The condition can also be spread to other areas of the body by the person themselves. Risk factors include a weak immune system, atopic dermatitis, and crowded living conditions. Following one infection, it is possible to get re-infected. Diagnosis is typically based on the appearance of the lesions. Prevention includes hand w ...
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Isoprene
Isoprene, or 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene, is a common volatile organic compound with the formula CH2=C(CH3)−CH=CH2. In its pure form it is a colorless volatile liquid. Isoprene is an unsaturated hydrocarbon. It is produced by many plants and animals (including humans) and its polymers are the main component of natural rubber. C. G. Williams named the compound in 1860 after obtaining it from thermal decomposition (pyrolysis) of natural rubber; he correctly deduced the empirical formula C5H8. Natural occurrences Isoprene is produced and emitted by many species of trees (major producers are oaks, poplars, eucalyptus, and some legumes). Yearly production of isoprene emissions by vegetation is around 600 million metric tons, half from tropical broadleaf trees and the remainder primarily from shrubs. This is about equivalent to methane emissions and accounts for around one-third of all hydrocarbons released into the atmosphere. In deciduous forests, isoprene makes up approximately 80% o ...
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Feeding Studies
Eating (also known as consuming) is the ingestion of food, typically to provide a heterotrophic organism with energy and to allow for growth. Animals and other heterotrophs must eat in order to survive — carnivores eat other animals, herbivores eat plants, omnivores consume a mixture of both plant and animal matter, and detritivores eat detritus. Fungi digest organic matter outside their bodies as opposed to animals that digest their food inside their bodies. For humans, eating is an activity of daily living. Some individuals may limit their amount of nutritional intake. This may be a result of a lifestyle choice, due to hunger or famine, as part of a diet or as religious fasting. Eating practices among humans Many homes have a large kitchen area devoted to preparation of meals and food, and may have a dining room, dining hall, or another designated area for eating. Most societies also have restaurants, food courts, and food vendors so that people may eat when away f ...
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