Planet earth is home to some of the deadly poisons and toxic substances. Some produced by microbes and some are produced in nature while some produced artificially.
Toxicity of these deadly poisons are measured by a scale of LD50. Lethal Dose (LD) is defined, as the dose required to kill, half the members of a specific animal population. It is an indicator measuring chemical’s toxicity within a short period.
The smallest amount these lethal and toxic substances, if consumed by humans may prove fatal for their lives. Adequate and utmost care are required to handle such deadly substances.
The rapid reaction of these deadly poisons depends upon the mode of ingestion, either through mouth, injections or inhalation and the amount of the toxic substances consumed.
Check out the top 5 deadly poisons:
Top 5 Deadly Poisons
Abrin Toxin: Abrin is a deadly poison and a highly toxic substance found inside the seeds of Rosary Pea commonly found in tropical regions. The peas are red and contain deadly toxalbumin. Inhalation of 0.198 mg of this potent toxin could lead to the death of a person weighing 60 kilos.
This toxin is formed naturally and soluble in water. The amount of Abrin produced contained in rosary pea is just 0.08%. Its effect on humans depends upon its mode of intake. This toxin penetrates the cells of the body, inhibiting cell protein synthesis after being transported to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER).
On inhaling this toxin, produces irritation in airway along with cough, tightening of chest muscles, pulmonary oedema that makes breathing difficult and skin starts turning blue or black. The symptoms of poisoning by Abrin start appearing within 8 hours. This toxin kills cells of Kidneys, liver and attacks the cells of the central nervous system.
There is no antidote available for this poison; hence it is better to avoid its exposure. Wearing of personnel protective gear is necessary when dealing with this potent toxin.
Palytoxin: Palytoxin is deadly poison and a highly potent toxin that is produced, in corals due to bacterial infections. They are also produced by bacterial reactions with Sponges, Starfish, algae and Crabs and mainly confined to tropics and subtropics regions.
The toxicity of this toxin is due to the attachment of sodium and potassium ions. Its toxicity depends upon the way of intake. The symptom starts appearing within 6-8 hours of its intake.
It starts with abdominal cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea leading to lethargy and slowing the heart rate and muscle spasm. Leakage of cellular contents in the blood resulting in Kidney failure and cardiac arrest.
An intake of 0.064 mg of this toxin orally or through injection is enough to kill a person weighing 60 kilos. Injecting this toxin has a 20 times higher effect then ingested orally. There is no antidote for this deadly toxin.
People had died after eating crabs infested with palytoxin, in Madagascar, Japan and Hawaii. A man accidentally inhaled this toxin while trying to remove a coral from his aquarium. Four fire-fighters who responded to this incident were admitted after inhaling this toxin in 2018.
Maitotoxin: Maitotoxin is a deadly poison and an extremely potent toxin produced by dinoflagellate species, a type of freshwater planktons. This toxin activates the calcium channel increasing the calcium ions. Dinoflagellates are aquatic photosynthetic microbial eukaryotes, and some species produce highly toxic metabolites.
Dinoflagellates are distributed in tropical and sub-tropical areas of Pacific Ocean. These planktons are often eaten by fishes and that in turn are eaten by humans. If ingested make cause diarrhoea, vomiting and paralysis. Gradually affects the spinal cord and destroys the central nervous system.
An intake of 0.003 mg of this toxin orally or through injection is enough to kill a person weighing 60 kilos. Injecting this toxin has 4 times higher effect then ingested orally. There is no antidote for this deadly toxin.
People have died after consuming reef fish that was contaminated by these planktons. Extreme precautions need to be maintained while handling these planktons.
Polonium-210: Polonium-210, a radioactive substance is one of the 25 isotopes of polonium. Polonium was discovered by Marie Curie in 1898. This isotope is very radioactive and highly dangerous. It is 2 million times more toxic than hydrogen cyanide.
Just one gram of it is sufficient to kill 50 million people and sicken another 50 million people. This is a deadly poison and an extremely toxic substance that emits short radiations. One gram of this radioactive substance is enough to produce 140 watts of power.
This substance emits alpha radiations within a short distance radiating energy. The consequence of this is that alpha radiations start damaging the tissues if ingested. As it emits alpha particles, that cannot be detected in radioactive detectors as their distance is very short, and can be carried easily in glass vials.
This substance cannot penetrate human skin, but if inhaled, ingested or applied to a wounded area, this substance gets into the body and starts damaging tissues by releasing energy, virtually eating through the entire body itself.
The difficulty in diagnosis makes the case even worse. The higher the dose the faster would be the effect including nausea, vomiting, hair loss and bone marrow damage with depletion of internal tissues of vital organs. Ingesting about 620ng of substance is sure to lead a person to an agonising and painful death. The organs gets dissolved due to this radiations.
Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian spy who exposed the activities of the Russian Government, was delivered a dose of this substance mixed with his coffee to die a painful death.
Botulinum Toxin: Botulinum Toxin, commonly known as Botox is the most deadly poison and the most toxic substance known to man. This is a neurotoxin produced by bacteria Clostridium Botulinum. It stops the release of neurotransmitters from the nerve cells leading to paralysis and botulism.
The refrigeration at a temperature below three degree Celsius retards the growth of this bacterium. The toxin is destroyed rapidly during cooking at a temperature greater than 85 degrees Celsius.
This substance targets the nervous system by disrupting the nerve signalling process leading to muscle contraction and paralysis. Ingesting a mere 62ng of this toxin can result in complete paralysis eventually leading to the death of a healthy individual.
Ingestion can happen by consumption of canned food infected with these bacteria. Once ingested the bacterium multiply rapidly and produces the toxin that results in paralysis of critical muscle groups and can cause seizures, respiratory arrest, and death.
The agonising part is this toxin can pass inside the body through eyes, mucous membranes, respiratory tract and damaged skin. Botox is used, in cosmetics, and doctors provide botox injections to reduce the appearance of skin wrinkles.
When provided in small doses at the correct and accurate point of the muscle helps in relaxing the muscles thus reducing the wrinkles. They have been used in plastic surgery and breast lifts by many women.
Injected in a wrong muscle could have a catastrophic effect. There is always a danger that this toxin may spread in other parts of the body and can paralyse the body part. This toxin is not approved by the FDA and physicians are doing at their risks. The results of Botox cosmetics treatment lasts 4-5 months depending upon patients.
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