Clinical Chemistry Blog Notes 7D: A small dosage of Toxicology

Botox, produced by Clostridium botulinum, is a drug made to treat health problems. A small dose can cause temporary removal of wrinkles, facial of that, blepharospasm (uncontrollable blinking) and strabismus (misaligned eyes). However, regardless of how it can help in the field of medicine, science stated that Botulinum was considered as the most toxic substance in the world. It has been estimated that 1 teaspoon of the poison can kill 1.2 billion people. When the chest muscles or the diaphragm are exposed to this chemical, respiration is inhibited, and if treatment is not received in time, it results to death from asphyxia.

Toxicology

Toxicology is the study of toxins and its adverse effect on living organisms. It involves the study of the symptoms, mechanisms, detection, and treatments a toxic substance brings and needs. The relationship between a dose and the effects it could bring once an organism was exposed is highly significant to this study. All substances are toxic under the right circumstances. LD50 is a term which refers to the dose of a toxic substance which kills 50 percent of a test population (usually rats and the like are used when the test concerns about human toxicity)

Factors affecting the activity of the posion

Factors related to the exposure to the drug:

The primary concern is the dose of the drug. The route of exposure affects the absorption. Administration relative to stress, food intake and ingestion of some toxicants can cause emesis (vomiting) if the stomach is empty, but if party filled, the toxicant may be retained and poisoning may occur.

Biological Factors:

The amount of the toxic substance required to cause poisoning is correlated to the body weight of the organism. Nutritional and dietary factors, hormonal and health status may also affect poisoning. Nutritional factors may affect the toxin by altering absorption.

Chemical Factors:

The chemical structure of the compound determines solubility then influences absorption. Non-polar or lipid soluble substances tend to be more readily absorbed than the polar substances.

Fortunately, at times, an organism has the ability to show less response to a specific dose of a chemical than how it should be demonstrated.

The disappearance (due to metabolic change) or elimination of chemical compounds from the body is termed half-life. It is the amount of time necessary for the elimination of half of the compound. The rate of elimination is dependent on the concentration of the substance.

To furthermore understand the field of toxicology, please watch this video.