The poison dart frog toxin linked to Navalny’s death, explained

WorldPolitics
15 Feb 2026 • 4:16 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

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  • Epibatidine, a highly potent toxin linked to Alexei Navalny's death, is reportedly 100 times more powerful than morphine.
  • This extremely toxic, nicotine-like compound originates from poison dart frogs found exclusively in northern South America, not indigenous to Russia.
  • The toxin inhibits nerve action by blocking nicotinic receptors, leading to muscle and respiratory paralysis and death by suffocation.
  • Professor Alastair Hay stated that the presence of Epibatidine in a person's blood suggests deliberate administration, potentially enhanced by other drugs.
  • If Russia used Epibatidine to poison Mr Navalny, it would violate the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention and the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention, both of which Russia is a signatory to.

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