The Poisoned Apple

Snow White’s poisoned apple seemed to have been the very most perfect fruit to be eaten. However, too much of it caused her sleeping death, eventually, poisoned. Well to that matter, too much of everything is bad – yea, real bad. Too much sugar may cause tooth decay, or too much salt can induce vomiting. Even too much love can kill you (Okay, I guess I’ve gone too far). These instances may be termed to as “toxicity” – something that has overwhelmed the effect of a certain substance which made it poisonous.

Agents of toxicity are considered to be poisons. These may be known as toxins or toxicants. Toxins are those which are naturally derived while toxicants are those which are manmade or of natural origin but are manipulated. Toxicology is a branch of pharmacology which deals with the effects of poisons, their detection or identification, and the use of antidotes.

There are four major disciplines within toxicology:

•        Mechanistic toxicology – concerns about the cellular and biochemical effects of toxins.
•        Descriptive toxicology – also known as risk assessment; this discipline bases the level of exposure that cause harm to humans by correlating the results made animal experiments.
•        Forensic toxicology – primarily concerned with medicolegal consequences of toxin exposure
•        Clinical toxicology – study of interrelationships between disease states and toxin exposure.
•      Other Toxicology Disciplines can be enumerated by clicking on this link.

Exposure to Toxins can occur for various reasons:

•     Intentional suicide attempts
•      this accounts for almost 50% of the cases
•      has the highest mortality rate
•     Accidental exposure
•      accounts for almost 30% of the case
•      occurs most frequently on children
•      adult cases may be due to drug overdose, either therapeutic or illicit
•     Homicide or occupational exposure
•      occupational exposure usually due to the industrial and agricultural environment.

  Routes of Exposure

•     Ingestion
•     Inhalation
•     Transdermal absorption

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  Acute vs. Chronic Toxicity

•     Acute toxicity - exposure to a substance which is usually associated short-term and its dose is sufficient to initiate immediate toxic effects.
•     Chronic toxicity - associated with frequent exposures which occurs repeatedly for extended periods.

   ANALYSIS OF TOXIC AGENTS

·         Toxicology of Specific Agents

o   Alcohol

o   Carbon Monoxide

o   Caustic Agents

o   Cyanide

o   Metals and Metallois

§  Arsenic

§  Lead

§  Mercury

o   Pesticides

·         Toxicology of Therapeutic Drugs

o   Salicylates

o   Acetaminophen

·         Toxicology of Drugs of Abuse

o   Amphetamines

§  Methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA)

o   Anabolic Steroids

o   Cannabinoids

o   Cocaine

o   Opiates

o   Phenycyclidine

o   Sedatives-Hypnotics

Next will be detailed descriptions of these :)

References:
Hill, John William (1988) Chemistry for Changing Times 5th Edition

Bishop, Michael et. al. (2010) Clinical Chemistry Techniques, Principles, Correlations 6th Edition