Cantharidin

Insol in cold water; somewhat sol in hot water; 1 g dissolves in 40 ml acetone, 65 ml chloroform; 1 g dissolves in 560 ml ether, 150 ml ethyl acetate; sol in oils.

SOL IN CONCN SULFURIC ACID, ACETIC ACID

SLIGHTLY SOL IN BENZENE, ALCOHOL

In water, 31 mg/l @ 20 °C.

FDA approved drugs -> Active ingredient

FDA approved drugs -> Active ingredient

Sublimes at 230 °F (EPA, 1998)

Sublimes @ 84 °C

424 °F (EPA, 1998)

218 °C

218 °C

Cantharidin appears as brown to black powder or plates or scales. Formerly used as a counterirritant and vesicant. Used for the removal of warts. Used as an experimental anti tumor agent. Active ingredient in spanish fly, a reputed aphrodisiac. (EPA, 1998)

Sublimes at about 110 °C (12 mm Hg, 3-5 mm distance)

Hydrolyzed to cantharinic acid.

Danger

H300 (100%): Fatal if swallowed [Danger Acute toxicity, oral]

P261, P264, P264+P265, P270, P271, P280, P301+P316, P302+P352, P304+P340, P305+P351+P338, P319, P321, P330, P332+P317, P337+P317, P362+P364, P403+P233, P405, and P501 (click each P-code to see the statement)

Aggregated GHS information provided per 47 reports by companies from 8 notifications to the ECHA C&L Inventory. Each notification may be associated with multiple companies.

Manufacturers, packers, and distributors of drug and drug products for human use are responsible for complying with the labeling, certification, and usage requirements as prescribed by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended (secs 201-902, 52 Stat. 1040 et seq., as amended; 21 U.S.C. 321-392).

Releases of CERCLA hazardous substances are subject to the release reporting requirement of CERCLA section 103, codified at 40 CFR part 302, in addition to the requirements of 40 CFR part 355. Cantharidin is an extremely hazardous substance (EHS) subject to reporting requirements when stored in amounts in excess of its threshold planning quantity (TPQ) of 100/10,000 lbs.

Signs and Symptoms of Acute Cantharidin Exposure: Acute exposure to cantharidin may produce the following signs and symptoms: salivation, difficulty in swallowing, thirst, severe vesication (blistering) of the upper gastrointestinal tract following ingestion, abdominal pain, vomiting and bloody diarrhea. Excessive, painful and bloody urination may be noted. Tachycardia (rapid heart beat) with normal blood pressure, hypotension (low blood pressure), and abnormal heart conduction are not uncommon. Eye contact may cause irritation with swelling of the lids; dermal contact may cause swelling followed by formation of blisters within 24 hours. Mental confusion, tetanic convulsions and fainting may be noted. Ataxia may progress to coma.

SRP: At the time of review, criteria for land treatment or burial (sanitary landfill) disposal practices are subject to significant revision. Prior to implementing land disposal of waste residue (including waste sludge), consult with environmental regulatory agencies for guidance on acceptable disposal practices.

0.39 [mg/m3]

4.3 [mg/m3]

27 [mg/m3]

For emergency situations, wear a positive pressure, pressure-demand, full facepiece self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) or pressure- demand supplied air respirator with escape SCBA and a fully-encapsulating, chemical resistant suit. (EPA, 1998)

WHEN TAKEN ORALLY IT CAUSES VOMITING, PURGING, ABDOMINAL PAIN, AND SHOCK. ... /IT/ IRRITATES ENTIRE URINARY TRACT. IRRITATION OF BLADDER CAUSES URGENCY OF URINATION, AND IRRITATION OF URETHRA MAY RESULT IN PRIAPISM.

DEATH MAY OCCUR RAPIDLY IN HYPOVOLEMIC SHOCK.

... IN CONTACT WITH HUMAN ... EYES CAUSES CONJUNCTIVITIS, KERATITIS, AND IRITIS, WITH MUCH EDEMA OF THE LIDS.

VESICANT CONTACTS SKIN WHEN BEETLE IS KILLED BY CRUSHING BLOW ... INITIAL TISSUE REACTION IS ERYTHEMA FOLLOWED BY VESICLE FORMATION WITHIN 24 HR.

For more Human Toxicity Excerpts (Complete) data for CANTHARIDINE (12 total), please visit the HSDB record page.

Cantharidin

Group 3: Not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans

Volume 10: (1976) Some Naturally Occurring Substances

1987

1987

Toxic doses of cantharides are of the order of 15 g in the horse and ox, 4 g in the sheep and 2 g in the dog. When taken by mouth in large doses they produce severe irritation of the gastrointestinal tract and of the kidneys, inducing albuminuria and, later, nephritis. They also have a stimulant action and cause quickened respiration and excitement, followed by coma and collapse. /Cantharides/

EXPERIMENTALLY INJECTED INTO ANTERIOR CHAMBER OF RABBITS, CANTHARIDES CAUSES FIBRINOUS EXUDATE, HYPEREMIA, ACCUMULATION OF LEUKOCYTES AND EXTENSIVE NECROSIS. INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE IS LOWERED ... . /CANTHARIDES/

HAS BEEN SHOWN ... TO POISON MITOCHONDRIA AND TO CAUSE CHANGES IN CELL MEMBRANES, EPIDERMAL CELL DYSHESION, AND ACANTHOLYSIS.

A GROUP OF HR/HR HAIRLESS MICE OF BOTH SEXES, 8-10 WK OLD, RECEIVED TWICE WEEKLY SKIN APPLICATIONS TO THE DORSAL SKIN OF A SOLUTION OF 0.016% CANTHARIDIN IN BENZENE FOR LIFESPAN. ... 32 MICE SURVIVED APPEARANCE OF FIRST TUMOR & 10 MICE DEVELOPED SKIN TUMORS, INCL 2 SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMAS. INTERNAL TUMORS WERE PRESENT IN 17 ANIMALS (51.6%) AND 9 MICE (28%) HAD RETICULUM CELL TUMORS ORMALIGNANT LYMPHOMAS. ... 7.3% OF /CONTROLS PAINTED WITH BENZENE/ ... DEVELOPED SKIN PAPILLOMAS AFTER 10-14 MO.

For more Non-Human Toxicity Excerpts (Complete) data for CANTHARIDINE (10 total), please visit the HSDB record page.

Classification of carcinogenicity: 1) evidence in humans: No adequate data ; 2) evidence in animals: Limited evidence. Overall summary evaluation of carcinogenic risk to humans is Group 3: The agent is not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans. /From table/

Basic Treatment: Establish a patent airway. Suction if necessary. Encourage patient to take deep breaths. Watch for signs of respiratory insufficiency and assist ventilations if necessary. Administer oxygen by nonrebreather mask at 10 to 15 L/min. Monitor for pulmonary edema and treat if necessary ... . Monitor for shock and treat if necessary ... . Anticipate seizures and treat if necessary ... . For eye contamination, flush eyes immediately with water. Irrigate each eye continuously with normal saline during transport ... . Do not use emetics. For ingestion, rinse mouth and administer 5 ml/kg up to 200 ml of water for dilution if the patient can swallow, has a strong gag reflex, and does not drool ... . /Irritating materials/

Advanced treatment: Consider orotracheal or nasotracheal intubation for airway control in the patient who is unconscious, has severe pulmonary edema, or is in respiratory arrest. Early intubation at the first sign of upper airway obstruction may be necessary. Positive pressure ventilation techniques with a bag valve mask device may be beneficial. Monitor cardiac rhythm and treat arrhythmias if necessary ... . Start an IV with D5W /SRP: "To keep open", minimal flow rate/. Use lactated Ringer's if signs of hypovolemia are present. Watch for signs of fluid overload. Consider drug therapy for pulmonary edema ... . Treat seizures with diazepam (Valium) ... Use proparacaine hydrochloride to assist eye irrigation ... . /Irritating materials/

TOXIC DOSES OF CANTHARIDES ARE ... 15 G IN HORSE AND OX ... 4 G IN SHEEP, & 2 G IN DOG.

LD50 Mouse ip 1 mg/kg

Manufacturers, packers, and distributors of drug and drug products for human use are responsible for complying with the labeling, certification, and usage requirements as prescribed by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended (secs 201-902, 52 Stat. 1040 et seq., as amended; 21 U.S.C. 321-392).

Releases of CERCLA hazardous substances are subject to the release reporting requirement of CERCLA section 103, codified at 40 CFR part 302, in addition to the requirements of 40 CFR part 355. Cantharidin is an extremely hazardous substance (EHS) subject to reporting requirements when stored in amounts in excess of its threshold planning quantity (TPQ) of 100/10,000 lbs.

Little pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic data regarding cantharidin in the human body currently exists; recruitment for First-Time-In-Human clinical trials regarding such information has been ongoing in 2018. There are however some studies regarding such data in animal models like beagle dogs.

Cantharidin is a natural toxin produced by the blistering beetle that possesses both vesicant (blistering) and keratolytic effects. The substance elicits these effects by inducing acantholysis (loss of intercellular connections) through the targeting of the desmosomal dense plaque, resulting in the detachment of the desmosomes from the tonofilaments. Cantharidin's effectiveness against warts is proposed to be a result of the exfoliation of the wart body as a consequence of the compound's acantholytic action. This acantholytic action generally does not go beyond the epidermal cells so that the basal layer remains intact and minimal effect occurs on the corium. There is consequently no scarring from the topical application of cantharidin.

Cantharidin is specifically absorbed by lipids in the membrane of epidermal keratinocytes, where it activates the release of neutral serine proteases. These enzymes subsequently break the peptide bonds in surrounding proteins, leading to the progressive degeneration of desmosomal dense plaques, which are important cellular structures that participate in cell-to-cell adhesion. Such degeneration results in the detachment of the tonofilaments that hold cells together. This process as a whole leads to selective acantholysis (loss of cellular connections) and blistering of the skin when the cantharidin topical application is applied upon specific topical developments like warts. A blister(s) at the application site develops within 24 to 48 hours of application and typically resolves within 4 to 7 days. Factors that can modify this proposed time frame include the volume or concentration of cantharidin used, physical contact time of the applied compound (usually between 4 to 24 hours), the presence of any occlusive dressings, or even patient sensitivity to cantharidin. The blistered lesions ultimately heal without scarring. Finally, there are some studies that suggest cantharidin's chemical profile as a potent and selective inhibitor of protein phosphatase 2A confers upon it an oxidative stress-independent growth inhibition of pancreatic cancer cells through cancer cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis. Nevertheless, the fact that little data regarding the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of cantharidin in the human body exists and certain toxic effects of cantharidin that have been observed following oral ingestion in humans like ulceration of the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts, along with electrolyte and renal function disturbance are strong reasons as to why the compound currently lacks FDA approval is used fairly limitedly for formal therapeutic indications.

Cantharidine totally inhibits the phosphorylase a phosphatase activity in mouse liver, muscle, and skin cytosol at 5000 nM, with IC50s of 110-250 nM. About 50% of the phosphorylase a phosphatase activity of brain cytosol is sensitive to cantharidine with an IC50 of approximately 80 nM and the remaining half is not inhibited even at 5000 nM.

Little pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic data regarding cantharidin in the human body currently exists; recruitment for First-Time-In-Human clinical trials regarding such information has been ongoing in 2018. There are however some studies regarding such data in animal models like beagle dogs.

Little pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic data regarding cantharidin in the human body currently exists; recruitment for First-Time-In-Human clinical trials regarding such information has been ongoing in 2018. There are however some studies regarding such data in animal models like beagle dogs.

Compounds or agents that combine with an enzyme in such a manner as to prevent the normal substrate-enzyme combination and the catalytic reaction.

Drugs that act locally on cutaneous or mucosal surfaces to produce inflammation; those that cause redness due to hyperemia are rubefacients; those that raise blisters are vesicants and those that penetrate sebaceous glands and cause abscesses are pustulants; tear gases and mustard gases are also irritants.

Cantharidin is absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, and, to a limited extent from the skin as well. Little pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic data regarding cantharidin in the human body currently exists; recruitment for First-Time-In-Human clinical trials regarding such information has been ongoing in 2018. There are however some studies regarding such data in animal models like beagle dogs.

It has been observed that absorbed cantharidin is excreted by the kidney. Little pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic data regarding cantharidin in the human body currently exists; recruitment for First-Time-In-Human clinical trials regarding such information has been ongoing in 2018. There are however some studies regarding such data in animal models like beagle dogs.

After oral or IP injection of (3)H-labeled cantharidin, high levels of radioactivity were distributed to and exhibited in the bile, kidney, liver, stomach, and tumor cells of ascites hepatoma-bearing mice. Such distribution suggests the agent has an affinity for liver and tumor tissues. Little pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic data regarding cantharidin in the human body currently exists; recruitment for First-Time-In-Human clinical trials regarding such information has been ongoing in 2018. There are however some studies regarding such data in animal models like beagle dogs.

Little pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic data regarding cantharidin in the human body currently exists; recruitment for First-Time-In-Human clinical trials regarding such information has been ongoing in 2018. There are however some studies regarding such data in animal models like beagle dogs.

THE DRUG IS ABSORBED FROM GI TRACT AND, TO LIMITED EXTENT, FROM SKIN. IT IS EXCRETED BY KIDNEY.

BILE, KIDNEY, LIVER, STOMACH & TUMOR CELLS OF ASCITES HEPATOMA-BEARING MICE EXHIBITED A HIGH LEVEL OF RADIOACTIVITY AFTER ORAL OR IP INJECTION OF (3)H-LABELED CANTHARIDIN. DISTRIBUTION SUGGESTS IT HAS AFFINITY TO LIVER & TUMOR TISSUES.

For Cantharidine (USEPA/OPP PC Code: 013101) there are 0 labels match. /SRP: Not registered for current use in the U.S./

MEDICATION (VET)

IT IS AVAILABLE AS CANTHARIDIN COLLODION (CANTHARONE), CANTHARIDIN (0.7%) IN A FILM-FORMING VEHICLE CONTAINING ACETONE, ETHOCEL, FLEXIBLE COLLODION, ETHER (35%) AND ALCOHOL (11%).

Cantharone (Seres). Liquid containing cantharidin 0.7% in a vehicle containing ether 35%, acetone, ethocel, and flexible collodion in 7.5 ml containers.

4,7-Epoxyisobenzofuran-1,3-dione, hexahydro-3a,7a-dimethyl-, (3aR,4S,7R,7aS)-rel-: ACTIVE

CANTHARIDIN IS ANHYDRIDE OF ... CANTHARIDIC ACID, WHICH FORMS BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE SOL SALTS WITH ALKALI.

Cantharis vesicatoria. Habitat: southern and central Europe, mainly upon Oleaceae and Caprifoliaceae. Constituents: 0.6-1% cantharidin, 10-15% fat, resinous substances, acetic and uric acids. /Cantharides/

Active principle of cantharides and other insects in notorious "Spanish Fly" aphrodisiac.