Marine Biotoxins: Symptoms and Monitoring Programs
Hafiz Ansar Rasul Suleria, Megh R. Goyal in Health Benefits of Secondary Phytocompounds from Plant and Marine Sources, 2021
Toxins are poisonous substances produced by microorganisms and others. Toxins act as primary factors for pathogenicity. There are about 220 known bacterial toxins 40% of which are harmful to humans by damaging the Eukaryotic cell membrane. Based on toxins, there are various classes of toxins, such as [11, 47]: Cytotoxins (cells);Dermatotoxins (skin cells);Enterotoxins (enteric system);Hemotoxins (blood cells);Hepatotoxins (liver tissue);Neurotoxins (nerve tissue).
Immunoglobulins
Constantin A. Bona, Francisco A. Bonilla in Textbook of Immunology, 2019
When an antibody binds a virus in such a way that it is no longer infectious, the virus is said to be neutralized, and such an antibody is called neutralizing (discussed further in Chapter 11). The same terminology is used when antibody binding inactivates a toxin. Many bacteria, parasites, plants and animals produce toxins with a variety of deleterious biological effects. One of the most deadly, on a molar basis, is botulinus toxin, a neurotoxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. In addition to timely support of vital body functions (such as respiration), injection of a large amount of antibodies binding the toxin (antitoxin, usually prepared in horses) is an important component of therapy. Similarly, when an individual has been bitten or stung by a venomous animal, the appropriate antitoxin may be life-saving. A toxin with which we all (should) have personal experience is the tetanus toxin produced by Clostridium tetanii. Periodically, we (should) be immunized with a formaldehyde-fixed preparation called tetanus toxoid. (An inactivated toxin used for purposes of immunization is called a toxoid.) If immunity to the toxin were not established before infection with C. tetanii, sufficient amounts of neutralizing antibody could not be generated before death.
The safety and quality of food
Geoffrey P. Webb in Nutrition, 2019
This organism is commonly found in soil and thus upon vegetables. It grows in starchy foods and, in the UK and USA, poisoning due to this organism is usually associated with consumption of rice. The organism produces heat resistant spores which may survive cooking of rice. If the cooked rice, containing viable spores, is stored at temperatures that permit the growth of the organism (7°C–49°C) then an infective dose will accumulate. Boiling rice in bulk and then storing it at room temperature prior to flash-frying, e.g. in Chinese restaurants, is a common scenario for food poisoning due to this organism. The resultant illness is acute in onset (1–16 hours) and of short duration (6–24 hours) and it is caused by toxins produced by the organism in food. An infective dose is in excess of 100,000 organisms in the food. The symptoms depend upon the particular toxin involved but may include diarrhoea, abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting.
Himalayan poisonous plants for traditional healings and protection from viral attack: a comprehensive review
Published in Toxin Reviews, 2022
Shriya Pathania, Diksha Pathania, Priyanka Chauhan, Mamta Sharma
There are numerous plants that are poisonous but contain various medicinal values. A plant when contacted or ingested inadequate amount can be hurtful or deadly to an organic entity or any plant skilled inspiring a poisonous and lethal response. Verifiably, we have discovered that everything is harmful; it is just the portion that isolates the poisonous from the nonpoisonous. Indeed, even water is poisonous if a huge sum (4–5 liters) is burned-through in a generally brief timeframe (2–3 h). In the Siddha medicinal system use of poisonous plants helps to cure some diseases. It is significant to have mindfulness regarding the poisonous plants which when used in the proper, prescribed dose, acts as potent therapeutic agents (Tamilselvan et al. 2014). Toxins are molecules that are harmful to every living organism. It is a fact that virtually any substance can be harmful at high enough concentrations-as Paracelsus (1493–1541) said in the sixteenth century, “the dose makes the poison”. Poisons include both naturally produced compounds and chemicals manufactured by humans.
Early recovery of botulism: one decade of experience
Published in Clinical Toxicology, 2021
Firouze Hatami, Shervin Shokouhi, Masoud Mardani, Minoush Shabani, Latif Gachkar, Ilad Alavi Darazam
Botulism is a rare but serious disease, caused by a toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum and more rarely by atypical strains from other Clostridium and non-Clostridium species. The toxin is one of the most potent biologic toxins. C. botulinum is recognized as a Gram-positive anaerobic microorganism. Improper processing of food products such as tuna fish, canned foods, homemade products, and dried meat can lead to the production of this toxin (i.e., creates an anaerobic, low acid, low salt, and sugar environment favorable for Clostridium botulinum to grow, leading to toxin formation) [1–3]. There are different types of botulism, including food-borne botulism, wound botulism, infant botulism, iatrogenic botulism, and inhalation botulism. Although there are seven serotypes of botulinum toxin (A–G), usually four of these toxins (A, B, E, and rarely F) are responsible for clinical poisoning in humans [2,4,5].
The undead in culture and science
Published in Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings, 2018
Connie Nugent, Gilbert Berdine, Kenneth Nugent
Wade Davis studied the cultural beliefs and potential explanations for zombies in Haiti in 1982 and published a paper entitled “The Ethnobiology of the Haitian Zombie” in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology in 1983.19 This paper provides a good discussion of the complex belief systems in Vodou related to the migration of spirits following death. Davis claimed that malevolent priests (bokors) could create zombies by poisoning their victims, reviving them through magical processes preferably after burial, and then controlling them through the use of psychoactive medications.19 He collected various powders provided by bokors and claimed that the principal compound causing the zombie state was tetrodotoxin, a potent frequently fatal neurotoxin found in puffer fish. This toxin can be absorbed by ingestion, injection, or inhalation or through breaks in the skin. It blocks fast voltage–gated sodium channels and causes muscle paralysis, including respiratory arrest. Clearly the use of powders containing this toxin requires special skills and/or luck. However, the claims by Wade Davis were subsequently discounted by pharmacologists in Japan who could not identify any active toxin in these powders; the claims were critically analyzed by William Anderson, who noted that the science underlying the Davis claims was relatively poor and that there were important ethical concerns regarding this work, including the possibility that he tried to pay a bokor to create a zombie.20,21
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