An Endogenous Bile Acid and Dietary Sucrose from Skin Secretions of Alkaloid-Sequestering Poison Frogs

Abstract

The skins of Madagascar poison frogs (<i>Mantella</i>) and certain Neotropical poison frogs (<i>Epipedobates</i>, <i>Dendrobates</i>) secrete the new bile acid tauromantellic acid (<b>1</b>), which was found in both wild-caught and captive-born frogs. This is the first molecule of endogenous origin detected in skin secretions from these taxa. Sucrose was also detected in secretions from wild-caught <i>Mantella</i> but not in captive-born frogs, suggesting a dietary origin