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Updated: Jan 28, 2026

Source and Route of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid Contamination in Tea Samples
Published on: September 28, 2022
Experimental evidence for maternal provisioning of alkaloid defenses in a dendrobatid frog
Ralph A Saporito1, Matthew W Russell1, Corinne L Richards-Zawacki2
1Department of Biology, John Carroll University, 1 John Carroll Boulevard, University Heights, Ohio 44118, USA.
Abstract:
Dendrobatid frogs sequester alkaloid defenses from dietary arthropods. Here, we provide experimental evidence that mother strawberry poison frogs (Oophaga pumilio) provision alkaloids to tadpoles. Captive-raised females were fed the synthetic alkaloid decahydroquinoline (DHQ), which we subsequently quantified in their skin, eggs, and developing tadpoles. DHQ quantity was positively associated with tadpole mass/development, suggesting high sequestration rates by tadpoles. These data confirm that tadpoles obtain nutrition and alkaloids by feeding exclusively on maternally provisioned eggs.
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