" Remember that the most beautiful things in the world are most useless"
Before discussing the reason for the death of the kid which consumed the leaves of castor bean plants the readers must know some basic information about the plant
Origin
The castor bean plant,(Ricinus communis), is a species of flowering plant. It is native to the Ethiopian region of tropical east Africa, The scientific name for the castor bean plant, Ricinus communis, has a much more logical derivation. Ricinus is the Latin word for tick and is the specific epithet for the Mediterranean sheep tick (Ixodes ricinus). Since the seeds looked like ticks, particularly large ticks engorged with blood it is named as “Ricinus”. Communis means common in Latin, and castor plants were already commonly naturalized in tropical
and warm temperate regions throughout the world. Castor plants are very common along stream banks, river beds, bottom lands, and just about any hot area where the soil is well drained and with sufficient nutrients and moisture to sustain the vigorous growth. The roots, leaves, and seeds have a place in traditional folk remedies throughout the world. Though the whole plant is poisonous the seeds or beans are extremely poisonous to people, animals and insects. When several insects feed on the plant, the plant protects itself by killing the insects by the presence of toxins. The seeds contain the highest concentration of poison. But, they are the source of numerous economically important products and the castor oil is one of earliest commercial products. Castor oil is a mixture of triglycerides, of which 75% to 90% is ricinoleic acid. Lesser amounts (1% to 4%) of linoleic, oleic, palmitic, and stearic acids are also found. The oil was used thousands of years ago in wick lamps for lighting. However, castor oil is commonly used as a laxative and for the induction of labor. The fast-drying, nonyellowing oil has been used in the manufacture of high-grade lubricants for industrial machinery and aircraft engines and in dyes, inks, paint, and varnishes. The castor cake or pulpy residue that remains after oil extraction has been used as animal feed and as fertilizer despite its unsuitability due to traces of toxins.
What is ricin?
Ricin(RYE-sin), is one of the most potent naturally occurring toxins, found in the castor beans. It is held among the top two or three deadliest poisons available in the world. It has been estimated that, gram for gram, ricin is 6,000 times more poisonous than cyanide and 12,000 times more poisonous than rattlesnake venom.
If castor beans are chewed and swallowed, the released ricin can cause injury. Ricin can be made from the waste material left over (pomace ) from processing castor beans. It can be made in the form of a powder, a mist, or a pellet, or it can be dissolved in water or weak acid. Luckily ricin is immiscible with castor oil and this prevents contamination of the oil during its production. Ricin belongs to a class of proteins known as ribosomal inactivating proteins (RIPs). As their name suggests, these proteins interfere with the function of ribosomes, halt protein synthesis and thus induce cellular death. If enough cells die, lesions appear in the exposed tissues which can lead to organ failure and death of the victim. As with most chemicals, whether or not a person/ animal becomes ill after exposure to ricin depends on how much ricin the person was exposed to, how long the exposure lasted, what the exposure method was (inhalation, ingestion, or injection), and other factors. In general, when the dose is the same, being exposed to ricin by injection has the greatest potential for causing illness, followed by inhalation, and then ingestion.Ricin mixed with food and used as bait is highly toxic to certain pest animals, such as some rodents and insects. A dose of 0.035 milligram (approximately one millionth of an ounce) may kill a man and even small particles in open sores and in the eyes may prove fatal.
Biological warfare
Ricin was used in many attempts of assassination all over the world.
Umbrella Murder
Ricin is said to have been used in the assassination of Bulgarian exile Georgi Maskov in London in 1978. Maskov was attacked with a specially engineered weapon disguised as an umbrella, which implanted a ricin-containing pellet into his body.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2636459.stm
http://www.portfolio.mvm.ed.ac.uk/studentwebs/session2/group12/georgie.htm
During the world war II. Ricin bombs were prepared by British army. Fortunately, they were not used. There is a report that that Ricin was used Iran –Iraq war.
Unlike other plants, the castor bean plant is gifted with a special character which only saved my village goats from the jaws of death in spite of consuming the leaves of the castor bean plant, grown in our lands. I will write a pithy remark about this in my next blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment