Chapter 01 · 2008 to today
The Blue Scorpion.
Heteroctenus princeps
A Caribbean scorpion that lives only in a small area of Hispaniola. Dr. Mikaelian went looking for it in 2008, mapped what its venom is made of, and built a protected reservation around it.
Specimen record
No. 01
Family
Buthidae
Described
Karsch, 1879
Also known as
Rhopalurus princeps
Range
Hispaniola, endemic
Site
Neyba, Bahoruco province
Reservation
12 acres
Venom fractions
176 · 500 to 32,000 Da
Plate I · Select an anatomical region, or bring the cursor close to the tail: the animal arches it towards you and opens its chelae.
Field archive · 2008
Searching the dry forest.
In 2008 Dr. Mikaelian joined local rangers and researchers in the dry scrub of the Dominican Republic to find Heteroctenus princeps in the wild. These are the original photographs from that expedition: the team, the field station, the first specimens.
01 · With the local rangers
02 · The team at base camp
03 · Into the protected area
04 · Searching the scrub
05 · Sorting the first specimens
06 · Field notes at the station
07 · Specimen boxes, ready to move
08 · A live specimen
The venom
176 fractions, four targets.
Read by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, the venom of H. princeps separates into 176 molecular-mass fractions. Among them are four families of disulfide-bridged peptides, each shaped to fit a different ion channel. Select a family to see its peptide dock on the channel and the ion flux stop.
Protected species, protected place
A reservation, not a harvest.
Under agreements signed in 2017 with the Ministry of Environment of the Dominican Republic, and within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the species is bred and studied in Neyba, Bahoruco province. The venom is collected by hand and the animals return to their habitat.
2017 · Research and breeding
Two years to study the species.
An agreement to breed the scorpions and research their taxonomy, ecology, distribution and venom composition.
2017 · Access to genetic resources
Five years of exclusive access.
A contract to develop natural medicines from the species, with training and technology transfer for Dominican students.
2021 · The reservation
Twelve acres, one laboratory.
The laboratory is expanded and the colony lives on a 12-acre reservation, visited that year by delegates from Germany, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.
100 vials
a year of the resulting natural medicine, donated to low-income patients through the Ministry of Public Health
5%
of annual net profits from the medicine, shared with the Ministry of Environment
By hand
venom collection, with the animals returned to their habitat
Santo Domingo · signing the agreement, in front of the press
Ministry of Environment · with the minister, Francisco Domínguez Brito
On the expedition · ABC News Nightline
The search, on camera.
ABC News Nightline joined Dr. Mikaelian on the expedition to find Heteroctenus princeps. The camera follows the team through the numbered search sectors of the dry forest, where every specimen is logged, and into the laboratory where the venom is first studied.
Sector by sector
Sector 4 · every specimen is logged
In the laboratory
Today
From the field to a listed medicine.
The venom of H. princeps, polarization enhanced, is the lead ingredient of Blue Scorpion® Pain and Inflammation Relief, a homeopathic medicine listed with the FDA.
Active ingredients
NDC 83627-901-01
Heteroctenus princeps venom
3X · polarized
Apis mellifica
6X
Rhus toxicodendron
6X
Claims are based on traditional homeopathic practice, not accepted medical evidence, and have not been evaluated by the FDA.
Next chapter
02 · Polarization
Los Angeles · California
A venom, a field and a ribosome. Three chapters of one question: how to make a molecule do more, at a smaller dose.
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Mikaelian
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This site describes research, patents and company-reported results. It is not medical advice, and product statements have not been evaluated by the FDA.