Dietary administration of tetrodotoxin and its putative biosynthetic intermediates to the captive-reared non-toxic Japanese fire-bellied newt, Cynops pyrrhogaster.

The origin of tetrodotoxin (TTX) in amphibians has long been disputed. In this study, TTX and its putative biosynthetic intermediates or shunt compounds (4,9-anhydro-10-hemiketal-5-deoxyTTX and Cep-242) were dietary administered to the captive-reared, non-toxic Japanese fire-bellied newt, Cynops pyrrhogaster. After 4 weeks, the ingested compounds were detected mainly in the newt body using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), while these compounds were not converted into other TTX analogues in newts.