Bufalin is a

cardiotonic A cardiac stimulant is a substance which acts as a stimulant of the heart – e.g., via positive chronotropic or inotropic action. Examples of cardiac stimulant drugs are cocaine and methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a ...

steroid A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and ...

toxin originally isolated from Chinese

toad venom Bufotoxins are a family of toxic steroid lactones or substituted tryptamines of which some may or may not be toxic. They occur in the parotoid glands, skin, and poison of many toads ( genus '' Bufo'') and other amphibians, and in some plants a ...

, which is a component of some

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logica ...

Research

Bufalin has ''

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in biology and ...

'' antitumor effects against various malignant

cell line An immortalised cell line is a population of cells from a multicellular organism which would normally not proliferate indefinitely but, due to mutation, have evaded normal cellular senescence and instead can keep undergoing division. The cel ...

s, including hepatocellular and lung

carcinoma Carcinoma is a malignancy that develops from epithelial cells. Specifically, a carcinoma is a cancer that begins in a tissue that lines the inner or outer surfaces of the body, and that arises from cells originating in the endodermal, mesoderma ...

. However, as with other

bufadienolide Bufadienolide is a chemical compound with steroid structure. Its derivatives are collectively known as bufadienolides, including many in the form of bufadienolide glycosides (bufadienolides that contain structural groups derived from sugars). Thes ...

s, its potential use is hampered by its cardiotoxicity.

References

{{Reflist Bufanolides Cardiac stimulants Toxins