Tuesday 23 April 2013

What Is the Most Poisonous Chemical Compound?

What Is the Most Poisonous Chemical Compound?


Question: What Is the Most Poisonous Chemical Compound?
Answer: When you get right down to it, everything is poisonous. Water will kill you if you drink too much of it. Oxygen is a deadly poison, yet we need it to live. However, there are some chemicals that we are better off not encountering. Here's a list of the most poisonous chemicals known. Keep in mind, toxicity varies from one species to another (i.e., what may be poisonous for a mouse may be more/less poisonous to a human) and within a species (i.e., age, sex, genetics all affect susceptibility to a toxin). I've listed the name of the toxin, its source, approximate average lethal dose per kilogram of body weight (LD50), and the species.
  1. tetanus
    1 nanogram/kg
    mouse, human
  2. botulinal neurotoxin (bacteria)
    1 nanogram/kg
    mouse, human
  3. shigella (bacteria)
    1 nanogram/kg
    monkey, human
  4. palytoxin (coral)
    60 nanogram/kg
    dog (iv)
  5. diphtheria (bacteria)
    100 nanogram/kg
    human
  6. ricin (from castor beans)
    1 microgram/kg
    human
  7. aflatoxins (mold which grows on nuts, legumes, seeds)
    1-784 micrograms, depending on type of aflatoxin
    duckling (oral)
  8. shigella (bacteria)
    1 microgram/kg
    mouse
  9. saxitoxin (shellfish)
    3-5 micrograms
    mouse (iv), about 50x higher dose orally
  10. tetrodotoxin (fugu pufferfish)
    10 micrograms
    mouse (ip)
  11. diphtheria (bacteria)
    1.6 milligram/kg
    mouse

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