Toad Venom

... the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in its head.

Shakespeare's contemporaries carried on their persons, usually in rings, certain "stones" cut from the heads of big, old toads. Toad-stones "touching any part envenomed by the bite of a rat, wasp, spider or other venomous beast, ceases the pain and swelling thereof." This hermetic treatment seems to have had some value.

The Chinese still go to toads for materia medica. The dried venom of certain of their toads they give internally to break up colds and apply externally to treat toothache and local inflammations. The apparent effectiveness of Chinese toad venom induced Johns Hopkins to assign its Dr. Hans Jensen and R. K. Chen to examine the dried venom. Last week they reported that:

The toad, one of the most ancient forms of present animals, one that lives both in water and on land, apparently secretes a fluid whose components are both animal and vegetable. One ingredient is ergosterol, which is found in cod liver oil. Another is adrenalin exactly like that taken from the suprarenal glands of animals. Two other ingredients act like digitalis, which the purple foxglove produces. There is a reservation in the scientists' report. They do not know how the Chinese dry and prepare their toad venom. Strange things may be added, befogging a true analysis.