__________ are poisonous substances of natural origin produced by an animal, plant, or microbe.
exists and is an alternate of . Any substance, organic or inorganic, if when taken under 50 mililiters causes detrimental effects, are toxins. Thus, any poisonous substance of natural origin is considered a poison. 1. 1  any poison produced by an organism, characterized by antigenicity in certain animals and high molecular weight, and including the bacterial toxins that are the causative agents of tetanus, diphtheria, etc., and such plant and animal toxins as ricin and snake venom. 1  Compare antitoxin, endotoxin, exotoxin, phytotoxin, venom. Properly, a poisonous protein, especially of bacterial origin. However, nonproteinaceous poisons, such as fungal aflatoxins and plant alkaloids, are often called toxins. See Aflatoxin, Alkaloid. Bacterial exotoxins are proteins of disease-causing bacteria that are usually secreted and have deleterious effects. All 3 can make toxins. Animals: Snakes and Gila monsters are poisonous, for example. Plants: The deadly Nightshade plant. Microbes: The botulinus bacterium. toxin - a poisonous substance produced during the metabolism and growth of certain microorganisms and some higher plant and animal species. 1  ricin, ricin toxin - a toxic protein extracted from castor beans; used as a chemical reagent; can be used as a bioweapon; one milligram of ricin can kill an adult. BIOLOGICAL TOXINS. Toxins are defined as any toxic substance of natural origin produced by an animal, plant, or microbe. They are different from chemical agents such as VX, cyanide, or mustard in that they are not man-made. Nature of a toxic substance. Definition of a poison. A poison is a substance capable of producing adverse effects on an individual under appropriate conditions. The term “substance” is almost always synonymous with “chemical” and includes drugs, vitamins, pesticides, pollutants, and proteins. Even radiation is a toxic substance. Confidence votes 890. Any substance, organic or inorganic, if when taken under 50 mililiters causes detrimental effects, are toxins. Thus, any poisonous substance of natural origin is considered a poison. Exotoxins have specific reaction sites in the host; e.g., tetanus and botulinum exotoxins affect nerve tissue, and streptococcal toxins attack vascular tissue. Plants and animals also produce protein toxins. Some, such as cobra venom, are enzymes that destroy substances in host tissue. Endotoxins are polysaccharide and phospholipid substances found in the cell walls of bacteria that are freed when the cells die and break up. Poison, in biochemistry, a substance, natural or synthetic, that causes damage to living tissues and has an injurious or fatal effect on the body, whether it is ingested, inhaled, or absorbed or injected through the skin.
Toxins