Frogs are crucial links in the food chain, and their actions benefit humans in many ways.
They aid farmers by eating untold billions of insects each year, protecting crops.
As members of the food chain, they are both predator and prey to birds, fish, snakes, and other wildlife.
And when pollution or other environmental changes affect a habitat, frogs are often the first casualties. These delicate creatures provide an early warning for endangered ecosystems.
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Frog skin is covered with a cocktail of protective toxins. Some discourage predators; other prevent the growth of bacteria and fungi on the moist skin.
You might be surprised to learn that some of these chemicals are nearly identical to those that regulate our muscles and nerves. It’s no coincidence!
The frog’s toxic arsenal evolved, in part, as a defense against mammals that eat them. Because humans share common ancestry with other mammals, many frog toxins are remarkably potent in the human body.
Some are being studied for use in human medicine.
Frog toxins may be used to treat:
- Heart ailments
- Bacterials and viral infections
- Skin and colon cancers
- Depression
- Stroke
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Chronic pain
