Cantharidin is dangerously toxic, inhibiting the enzyme phosphatase 2A. It causes irritation, blistering, bleeding and discomfort. These effects can escalate to erosion and bleeding of mucosa in each system, sometimes followed by severe gastro-intestinal bleeding and acute tubular necrosis and glomerular destruction, resulting in gastro-intestinal and renal dysfunction, by organ failure, and death. Preparations from L. Froberg notes a manslaughter case where cantharidin was administered in a coconut-flavoured candy as an intended aphrodisiac, resulting in illness and eventual death of two women agent identified postmortem , and in facial blistering and criminal conviction of the perpetrator.
In Morocco and other parts of North Africa, spice blends known as ras el hanout sometimes included as a minor ingredient "green metallic beetles", inferred to be cantharides from L. Dawamesk, a spread or jam made in North Africa and containing hashish, almond paste, pistachio nuts, sugar, orange or tamarind peel, cloves, and other various spices, occasionally included cantharides. Collecting cantharides, 19th century. Lytta vesicatoria is a slender, soft-bodied metallic and iridescent golden-green insect, one of the blister beetles.
Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. What Is Spanish Fly, Exactly? Medically reviewed by Alan Carter, Pharm. Where does it come from? Can I still buy it? Are there any alternatives? A note about consent. The bottom line. Aphrodisiacs for Those Steamy Summer Nights. Read this next. Medically reviewed by Debra Rose Wilson, Ph. Medically reviewed by Janet Brito, Ph. Medically reviewed by Fernando Mariz, MD. Medically reviewed by Carolyn Kay, M. Females can discard packets that don't please them, and so to sweeten the deal, the males produce bonus packs of cantharidin, to allow females to cover the eggs with it and keep them safe from predators.
This is called, by researchers studying the beetle, a nuptial gift. Perhaps observation of this process is what first turned people to the idea of the substance as an inducement to mating. Cantharidin's prowess as an irritant had to be known by anyone who ever encountered the beetles.
It has been used externally as a way to remove warts, moles, and tattoos. Ingestion, and even digestion, does not diminish its ability to irritate.
As it makes its way out of the body, it irritates the lining of the urethra. In women, the irritation is externally unnoticeable. In men, it causes a great deal of swelling in the area. This translates into a long-lasting erection. She takes his cantharidin offering and smears it all over her eggs — the noxious chemical will effectively protect her unhatched offspring from being eaten.
If he is ever to persuade a female to mate with him, the fire-coloured male must trail the forest floor in search of a dead or dying blister beetle to lick. Birds do it too. Nuthatches make nests in tree holes and commonly compete with squirrels for space. The birds have been seen grabbing blister beetles in their beaks and rubbing them around the entrance to their nests, presumably forming a barrier of squirrel repellent — not exactly what the beetles intended but ingenious nonetheless.
Today, cantharidin has been widely banned for human consumption but can still be found online and occasionally reports emerge of accidental Spanish fly poisonings. Science writer Helen Scales giving us a reason to like beetles, through the chemistry of Spanish fly. Next week, size matters. Titin is the largest known protein in the human body. So what does this super-sized protein do, and why does it need to be so big? Andrew Holding introduces Titin, the largest protein in the human body.
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