 According to folklore , brachial gland secretions are generally thought to contain venom because of apparent anaphylactic reactions by humans following their bites . Slow lorises can indeed inflict painful bites . Animal dealers in Southeast Asia keep tanks of water nearby so that in case of a bite , they can submerge both their arm and the slow loris to make the animal let go . The secretion from the brachial gland of captive slow lorises is similar to the allergen in cat dander , hence the secretions may merely elicit an allergic reaction , not toxicosis . Loris bites cause a painful swelling , and the single case of human death reported in the scientific literature was believed to have resulted from anaphylactic shock . However , although the toxin is only produced when the brachial secretion and saliva are mixed , both the secretion and saliva may have unique chemical properties and may act separately . Furthermore , secondary toxins may be introduced from the consumption of wild food , augmenting the toxicity . The combined brachial secretion and saliva of recently captured wild lorises was shown to contain <unk> , which were not found in slow lorises held in captivity for more than a year . 
