Several analogues of epibatidine, in which the azabicycloheptane ring has been altered, have been synthesized and tested. The idea for this compound originated partly from research aimed at discovering analgesics that were selective for the mu-opioid receptor. Another puzzle to solve is the source of epibatidine. Researchers first thought that the frog produced the compound biochemically. The common presumption is that the frog obtains epibatidine, or some biological precursor, from a dietary source.
Insects are one suspected source.
On the other hand, because of the structural similarity of epibatidine and nicotine, a plant-derived alkaloid, a floral source may be a possibility. Whichever the answer, identifying the producer of this potent nicotinic agonist may provide an abundant source of epibatidine. Daly, J.W. Thirty Years of Discovering Arthropod Alkaloids in Amphibian Skin. A Very High Affinity Nicotinic Receptor Ligand. In Progress in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases.