Study on Contents of Catharidin in Epicauta ruficeps Illiger

Cantharidin of Epicauta ruficeps Illiger was mainly detected in the reproductive glands of males and eggs.Compared with the avarage content of both males and females collected from field,newly-mated males transferred 70% of cantharidin to females,while cantharidin content in newly-mated females increased by 43%.Additionally,it was showed that cantharidin content extracted following hydrolysing this beetle with HCl went up 4 times.This study suggested that this beetle can be used as a supplementary traditional Chinese medicine.