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Modern science has dreamed up a wide variety of treatments for depression, anxiety, and other mental issues, and researchers may have stumbled across a somewhat unlikely remedy in the form of the psychedelic toad venom that seems to have potential on that particular front.
The planet is filled with plants and fungi known for their mind-altering properties, and human beings have spent thousands of years consuming and experimenting with the various substances you can get your hands on if you know where to look.
I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall to witness the first person who figured out the Colorado River toad (a.k.a. the Sonoran Desert toad) also falls under that particular umbrella, as the animal is capable of excreting a toxic venom that contains a subset of DMT in addition to bufotenin (commonly referred to as “bufo”), two tryptamines that can trigger an intense psychedelic experience when consumed.
In recent years, there’s been a growing amount of evidence that suggests psychedelics have the potential to be an invaluable tool when it comes to combating a number of mental ailments.
In 2019, the FDA approved a ketamine-based nasal spray that can be harnessed to treat depression, and research has shown small doses of LSD and psilocybin (the active ingredient in “magic mushrooms”) can be effective on that particular front and could also be beneficial for people battling addiction and PTSD.
Now, we may be able to add “toad venom” to that list of treatments based on a study that was conducted by a team of researchers at Mount Sinai and Columbia University.
The results of that study were recently published in Nature and focused on 5-MeO-DMT, which is one of the psychoactive elements in the toxin the Colorado River toad produces when it is threatened.
At the risk of getting too deep into the weeds, the researchers discovered the substance was able to trigger a serotonin receptor known as 5-HT1A, which typically doesn’t respond to similar psychedelics. The experiment was facilitated with the help of some unfortunate lab mice that were conditioned to develop depression and anxiety, as they were dosed with a strain of modified 5-MeO-DMT that was deemed to be effective in treating both ailments.
It’s hard to imagine toad venom depression treatments are going to burst into the mainstream at any point in the near future, but it’s still a fairly intriguing discovery that has the potential to lead to new developments as scientists continue to build on this research.