Major biological activities of the skin secretion of the Chinese giant salamander, Andrias davidianus

Amphibian skin can produce abundant secretion which contains many bioactive compounds. In this work, skin secretion of the Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) was obtained by mild electrical stimulation of the dorsal skin surface, and the main physiopathological properties of the secretion were described. Intraperitoneal administration of the skin secretion caused lethal effects in mice. Low doses of the skin secretion induced significant systemic and local effects like edema and nociception in mice. The activities of phospholipase A2 and proteolytic enzyme were likely related to the physiopathological activities observed. The work proved the complex toxic effects of the Chinese giant salamander skin secretion and provided clues to study its physiological function further.