Samandarin or Samandarine is the main steroidal alkaloid secreted by the fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra). Samandarin is also believed to be the active ingredient in Salamander brandy, a Slovenian traditional medicinal alcoholic drink with purported hallucinogenic and aphrodisiac effects.
Fire salamanders are indigenous to central Europe and reside in deciduous forests. Salamander secretions have been shown to be toxic and distasteful to mammals, birds, fishes, and even other amphibians. It has also been suggested tha samandarines help to prevent the salamander from contracting bacterial and fungal infections.
History
Discovery
Early descriptions of salamander poisonings were found in the writings of many physicians and philosophers in Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages. Little was known about the toxic compounds, but the recorded symptoms from poisonings were consistent with what is known today. The ancient healers also had some interesting theories about how one contracted poison from the salamander. They believed that the mere sighting of the black and yellow spotted animal or ingestion of salamander ashes would lead to sickness and death.
Ogorevc, the author of the article, writes about his first-hand experience of obtaining and experimenting with Salamander brandy. In the excerpt below, Ogorevc describes his intoxication with Salamander brandy: