VOLUME 74, NOVEMBER 2004 285 Blister beetles (Figure) are the source for commercial preparations of cantharidin. Many blister beetle species exist, and many have not been studied extensively. Much of what we know about blister beetles is extrapolated from studies of a few species. In some blister beetles, such as Epicauta funebris, cantharidin has been identified in all 10 life stages and accum...

cantharidin is one of the most well- known compounds which has ever been fascinating in medicine due to its effects on human and domestic animals. it is produced naturally by beetles of family meloidae and oedemeridae, however a considerable spectra of other insects sequestered it too. cantharidin along with the other analogue, palasonin, which has a methyl group less than it, found in the hemo...

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Beetles of the family Meloidae (blister beetles) are often reported in pharmacological literature because of their content of cantharidin. Cantharidin has a long history in human medicine and was commonly applied in the 19th and the early 20th centuries, although its use has been progressively abandoned since then. Contrary to most, even common, large species of C...

Blister beetles (Meloidae) are cosmopolitan in distribution except from New Zealand, Antarctica and most Polynesian islands. They act as minor pests for some crops and as major pests for others under certain conditions in several parts of the world. The present work reviews the most important agronomic impacts of various beetle species in different African, Asian, European and American countrie...

the meloidae, known as blister beetles, a widespread family of tenebrionoidea that includes approximately 2500 species, is still scarcely known faunistically in several areas of the world. because of specific biogeographical feature, iran harbors a rich diversity of meloids and due to the lack of basic and integrated studies, particularly in eastern parts of iran, our current knowledge of irani...

In the order Coleoptera, cantharidin is produced by two families, Meloidae (true blister beetles) and Oedemeridae (false blister beetles). Cantharidin is of veterinary and medical importance, since it is super toxic to animals and humans. The present work was conducted aiming to review the cantharidin investigation and cantharidin toxicosis to animals including pathology, symptomatology, preven...

We present evidence of a possible case of self-medication in a lekking bird, the great bustard Otis tarda. Great bustards consumed blister beetles (Meloidae), in spite of the fact that they contain cantharidin, a highly toxic compound that is lethal in moderate doses. In addition to anthelminthic properties, cantharidin was effective against gastrointestinal bacteria that cause sexually-transmi...

Three major families in the order Coleoptera have been found to produce vesicant toxins, Meloidae (true blister beetles) and Oedemeridae (false blister beetles) produce cantharidin and Staphylinidae (rove beetles) produce paederin. Some of the most important distribution, biological and ecological aspects of these beetle families had been studied because of their products cause human dermatitis...

Cantharidin, the well-known terpenoid compound from the blood of blister beetles (and active principle of Spanish fly), is a feeding deterrent to insects, effective at a concentration of 10(-5) molar.