health
February 14, 2026
What is dart frog toxin, which is said to have been used to kill Alexei Navalny?
Epibatidine is about a hundred times more potent than morphine, and derived from frogs native to South America
TL;DR
- Epibatidine is a toxin derived from poison dart frogs native to northern South America.
- It is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and acts as a nicotine-like substance.
- The toxin inhibits nerve action by blocking nicotinic receptors, leading to muscle and respiratory paralysis, causing death by suffocation.
- Researchers have investigated Epibatidine as a potential painkiller and for treating lung inflammatory conditions, but its toxicity prevents clinical use.
- The presence of Epibatidine in a person's blood suggests deliberate administration.
- If used to poison Alexei Navalny, it would violate the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) and the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), treaties to which Russia is a signatory.
- Epibatidine can be detected using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.
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