Diamphotoxin increases the permeability of cell membranesofred blood cells. Although this does not affect the normal flow of ions between cells, it allows all small ions to pass through cell membranes easily, which fatally disrupts the cells' ion levels.[4] Although diamphotoxin has no neurotoxic effect, its hemolytic effect is lethal, and may reduce hemoglobin levels by as much as 75%.[5]
The San peopleofSouthern Africa use diamphotoxin as an arrow poison for hunting game.[1] The toxin paralyses muscles gradually. Large mammals hunted in this way die slowly from a small injection of the poison.[6]
^Mebs, D.; Brüning, F.; Pfaff, N.; Neuwinger, H. D. (July 1982). "Preliminary studies on the chemical properties of the toxic principle from Diamphidia nigroornata larvae, a source of Bushman arrow poison". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 6 (1): 1–11. doi:10.1016/0378-8741(82)90068-X. PMID7109661.
^Woollard, J. M.; Fuhrman, F. A.; Mosher, H. S. (1984). "The Bushman arrow toxin, Diamphidia toxin: Isolation from pupae of Diamphidia nigro-ornata". Toxicon. 22 (6): 937–46. doi:10.1016/0041-0101(84)90185-5. PMID6523515.
^Jacobsen, T. F.; Sand, O.; Bjøro, T.; Karlsen, H. E.; Iversen, J. G. (1990). "Effect of Diamphidia toxin, a Bushman arrow poison, on ionic permeability in nucleated cells". Toxicon. 28 (4): 435–44. doi:10.1016/0041-0101(90)90082-i. PMID2161574.
^Kao, C. Y.; Salwen, M. J.; Hu, S. L.; Pitter, H. M.; Woollard, J. M. (1989). "Diamphidia toxin, the Bushmen's arrow poison: Possible mechanism of prey-killing". Toxicon. 27 (12): 1351–66. doi:10.1016/0041-0101(89)90067-6. PMID2629177.
Gelashvili, D. B. (2002). "Natural toxins in inter- and intraspecies interaction of human being (elements of ethnotoxinology)". Zhurnal Obshcheĭ Biologii (in Russian). 63 (3): 258–69. PMID12070945.
Bernheimer, A. W.; Rudy, B. (June 1986). "Interactions between membranes and cytolytic peptides". Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Reviews on Biomembranes. 864 (1): 123–41. doi:10.1016/0304-4157(86)90018-3. PMID2424507.
