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The discovery opens up the possibility of sending millions of cane toads from Australia to China, where they would be systematically squeezed for their juices, which would then be mixed with herbs and consumed as medicine.
Harendra Parekh, from the university’s school of pharmacy, said Chinese companies were “queuing up” to get their hands on Australia’s cane toads.
“We don’t have any of the environmental pollution, such as heavy metal poisoning, that you see in China,” he told Guardian Australia. “So the Chinese see cane toads as living in a clean environment that doesn’t impact upon their venom.
“We could process the venom for medicine, ideally in a tablet because it tastes absolutely awful if you drink it. Look at lamb, beef and chicken – these Australian products are seen as premium goods in China. Cane toads would be no different. They’d be premium cane toads.”
The university has been working on cane toad venom as a cancer treatment since 2010, when former PhD student Jing Jing discovered that the poison killed cancerous prostate cells while sparing healthy cells.
“Ultimately, labour costs are cheaper in China than here, so we may sell the technology for the tablet and then in order to meet the demand, collect the toads and ship them there,” Parekh said.
A further possibility could be to target other forms of cancer with the venom, potentially opening up an avenue to medicine that could be sold to other countries. Currently, toads are predominantly used in Chinese medicine.
Cane toads are considered one of Australia’s worst invasive species, having been introduced in Queensland in 1935 in a misguided attempt to control the cane beetle.
It is estimated there are now more than 200m cane toads in Australia, expanding their range at about 50km a year. The toads have marched across Queensland and the Northern Territory – with disastrous effects for native animals such as quolls, goannas and snakes – and are now invading the Kimberley.
Parekh said venom was easily obtained from cane toads by simply squeezing them and collecting it from their glands.
“You can do it while they are alive and venom from one toad can go a long way,” he said. “It’s very potent, which is why it causes problems if your dog simply licks the skin of a cane toad.
“The cane toad is a pest here to stay and we are fighting a losing battle against it, but we could turn them into a lucrative export market.
“There are many opportunities a cane toad can give us rather than just whacking them with bats. Why can’t we turn them into something positive?”
