Rapid identification of primary constituents in parotoid gland secretions of the Australian cane toad using HPLC/MS-Q-TOF

Toad parotoid gland secretion or toad venom has in recent years been increasingly shown to possess potentially beneficial pharmacological effects; this speculation has drawn much interest centred on elucidating the chemical basis of its multimodal effects. For this purpose, we explored the use of a rapid and accurate analysis method for systemic investigation of the parotoid gland chemistry, when extracted from Australian cane toads. Full-scan data of cane toad venom extract was acquired using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a hybrid quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry system (HPLC/MS-Q-TOF), with multiple ionization sources (ESI and APCI) in positive and negative mixed modes. By measuring the exact mass differences between the theoretical and measured mass of each assumed compound, we confirmed the presence of 12 key constituents. The present results demonstrate that the use of HPLC/MS-Q-TOF with multiple ionization sources delivers exemplary selectivity and sensitivity, allowing for the rapid and accurate identification of constituents within cane toad venom. This paves the way for this technique to be used in future routine screening of components within the genus Bufo and for key analytes too, then reliably assessed for any purported beneficial (clinic) properties.