their corpses. He determined that the poison primarily affected the central nervous system and spinal cord. Most studies on samandarin and other samandarine alkaloids were performed in the mid-1900s by German scientists Schöpf and Habermehl. They were able to elucidate the structures of nine samandarines and found that samandarin was the main alkaloid in the salamander's secretions. The structure and stereochemistry of samandarin was confirmed in 1961 using X-ray crystallography. In 1968, Habermehl and Haaf also investigated biosynthesis of samandarines with in vitro and in vivo experiments, finding that the compounds originate from a cholesterol precursor. Use in Salamander Brandy It is believed that the samandarine family of compounds is the active ingredient in an indigenous Slovenian drink called Salamander brandy. Salamander brandy was first brought to attention in 1995 by an article published in the Slovenian magazine Mladina, describing the hallucinogenic and intensely aphrodisiac effects of the drink. 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: Ogorevc also reported on a few methods he observed for making Salamander brandy. One is by adding live black and yellow spotted salamanders to a barrel of fermenting fruit (one salamander for every ten liters). The mixture is then left for a couple of months while the salamander secretes its toxins (supposedly samandarines) to avoid ethanol absorption until its eventual death. Another method he describes is to hang a salamander by its hind legs under a stream of brandy during the distillation process. The salamander will excrete its poisons to defend itself while the brandy continues to wash away its secretions. A third technique is to kill and dry the salamanders and hang them above the pot of cooking fruit. The steam that rises will extract the poisonous compounds from the salamander and will then be distilled and collected in a vessel. The publication of Ogorevc's account brought much public attention and curiosity to this enigmatic drink. Yet, the credibility of the existence of Salamander brandy as described by Ogorevc has been brought into question. Anthropologist Miha Kozorog from University of Ljubljana decided to investigate Ogorevc's claims in 2003. Although he and his colleagues traveled to the region where Ogorevc supposedly bought Salamander brandy, Kozorog was unable to obtain any samples. However, from many discussions with the locals in that region, he