Toxicity Effects of Toad (Rhinella jimiStevaux, 2002) Venom in Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus)

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the pathological changes that occur after administering different doses of R. jimi (Stevaux, 2002) parotoid glands secretion to Gallus gallus domesticus chicks. Twenty-three animals were used in this study and were divided into 5 groups that received a toad venom dose of 0, 3.0 mg/kg, 6.0 mg/kg, 10.0 mg/kg, and 25.0 mg/kg. After 48 h, the necropsy and pathological examinations were performed. No clinical signs of toxicity were observed in any group. Macroscopically, hepatomegaly, areas of liver necrosis, splenomegaly, necrotic and hemorrhagic cardiac regions, hydropericardium, dark necrotic lesions of Meckel's diverticulum, and hemorrhages in the lungs and kidneys were detected. Histopathological changes included diffuse vacuolar degeneration of hepatocytes, severe sinusoidal congestion, focal areas of hemorrhage in the parenchyma, swollen cardiac fibers, necrotic myocardial fibers, moderate to acute diffuse alveolar hemorrhage, vacuolar degeneration of the renal tubular epithelium, necrosis of renal tubules, and extensive hemorrhagic areas below the brain and cerebellar meninges. In conclusion, pathological changes of the R. jimi toxins in chicks were noted in the heart, spleen, liver, Meckel's diverticulum, lungs, and kidneys. Most of the changes were similar to those observed in humans and animals exposed to toxins from other toad species.

Suspected cane toad (Rhinella marina) toxicity in a wedge‐tailed eagle (Aquila audax)

“…Chickens are one of the few avian species in which the effects of toad toxicity have been closely studied, whereby Rhinella jimi toxin caused no clinical signs, but demonstrated dose‐dependent hepatic, renal and cardiac necrosis with splenic congestion 4 . Interstitial congestion and hydropic degeneration of the myocardium in chickens affected by R. jimi toxin was comparable to cardiac lesions found in affected humans, while hepatic changes differed from the hepatic degeneration and multifocal congestion seen in dogs 4,9 …”

“…Timely supportive treatment to decontaminate and ameliorate neurologic and nervous effects provides an excellent prognosis in dogs and humans 2,4 . Knowledge of clinical signs, treatment and prognosis in non‐mammalian species is severely lacking, with most literature describing either survival or death following exposure in wild birds rather than clinical effects 3,4 …”

“…2 Timely supportive treatment to decontaminate and ameliorate neurologic and nervous effects provides an excellent prognosis in dogs and humans. 2,4 Knowledge of clinical signs, treatment and prognosis in non-mammalian species is severely lacking, with most literature describing either survival or death following exposure in wild birds rather than clinical effects. 3,4 This report describes the clinical signs exhibited by Australia's largest carnivorous bird, the wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax) following complete ingestion and subsequent regurgitation of an adult cane toad and its toxic tissues, and its responses to supportive treatment.…”

Chemical and Pharmacological Screening of Rhinella icterica (Spix 1824) Toad Parotoid Secretion in Avian Preparations

“…In traditional Chinese, Indian, and Egyptian medicine, cardiotonic steroids from plants, animals, or minerals have been widely used for millennia to treat sores, heart failure, pain, and different types of cancer [17][18][19][20]. For therapeutic applications, the most important amphibian secretions are obtained from toads of the family Bufonidae [6,21] and have been widely used in America, Asia, and Europe as antiviral agents (to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)), as well as for their anti-proliferative [22][23][24], antibacterial [25], antiparasitic [26], insecticidal [27,28], antidiabetic [29], anti-cancer [30,31], anti-inflammatory, and analgesic [7,[32][33][34] activities. Many compounds that occur in toad secretions, e.g., bufalin, telocinobufagin, hellebrin, marinobufagin, and cinobufagin, can vary markedly among individuals, geographic regions, and species in response to environmental conditions, e.g., temperature, and dietary composition, and may involve morphological adaptations [14,35,36].…”

Action of heparin and acetylcholine modulators on the neurotoxicity of the toad Rhinella schneideri (Anura: Bufonidae) in Brazil

“…These components, especially those bufadienolides and bufotoxins, have been considered potential therapeutic tools for exhibiting cancer inhibitory activity (Meng et al, 2009), apoptosis suppressive action (Qi et al, 2010) and antimicrobial activity (Tempone et al, 2008). The paratoid gland secretion and their components, e.g., non-enzymatic presynaptic active toxin (730.6 Da) isolated from R. schneideri poison (Rostelato-Ferreira et al, 2018), can induce neurotoxicity characterized by suppression of the motor acetylcholine release (Rostelato-Ferreira, Dal Belo, Cruz-Höfling, Hyslop, & Rodrigues-Simioni, 2011;Rostelato-Ferreira, Dal Belo, Leite, Hyslop, & Rodrigues-Simioni, 2014;Rostelato-Ferreira et al, 2018), including cardiotoxicity consisted in arrhythmia and ventricular failure mostly by antagonizing Na + / K + ATPase of cardiomyocytes (Toledo & Jared, 1995;Sakate & Oliveira, 2000;Gadelha, Lima, Batista, Melo, & Soto-Blanco, 2014;Leal et al, 2020). R. marinus and R. vulgaris are responsible for causing the most cases of envenomation in domestic animals (Sakate & Oliveira, 2000;Sakate & Oliveira, 2001).…”