Abrin Poisoning

Dickers, Kirsten J.; Bradberry, Sally; Rice, Paul; Griffiths, Gareth; Vale, J Allister

doi:10.2165/00139709-200322030-00002

Cited by 135 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Abrin is similar in structure and function to ricin (Ricinus communis) although considered even more potent [1]. Abrin seeds, which are attractively colored and can be found in a variety of objects such as ornaments and necklaces, are most commonly ingested unintentionally by children.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attempted Suicide, by Mail Order: Abrus precatorius

2010

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Objective Abrus precatorius is cultivated in many subtropical areas. The seeds exist in a variety of colors such as black, orange, and most commonly, glossy red. A black band is found at the end of the seed. The plant contains multiple pods which typically contain three to five Abrus seeds. The seeds contain abrin, which inhibits ribosomal function, halting protein synthesis and leading to cellular death. A unique aspect of this case is the use of the internet to order a potentially lethal poison as well as transmission of a picture to identify the seed. Case Report A 20-year-old man presented to the emergency department complaining of vomiting and watery diarrhea for 6-8 h prior to arrival. He denied any medication use, recent illness, travel, or changes in his diet. Initial vital signs were normal. The patient was diagnosed with viral gastroenteritis. During his evaluation, the patient admitted to feeling suicidal. While awaiting psychiatry evaluation, the patient's father arrived with a box of small hard red seeds, which he believed that his son ingested in a suicide attempt. The seeds could not be identified by the staff. A picture of the seeds was transmitted by e-mail to the New York City Poison Control Center, allowing their identification as A. precatorius. The patient was reinterviewed and admitted to chewing and swallowing 10 seeds. Given the potential toxicity of abrin, the patient was admitted to the intensive care unit. He continued to have frequent episodes of emesis as well as diarrhea. He gradually improved over 2 days. He admitted to ordering a box of Abrus seeds online from Asia after reading on the Internet about their use in suicide. He was eventually discharged for outpatient follow-up with no permanent sequelae. Conclusion Abrin has an estimated human fatal dose of 0.1-1 μg/kg. Most cases of Abrus seed ingestions are unintentional and occur in children. Ingesting the intact seeds typically results in no clinical findings, as they pass through the gastrointestinal tract due to their hard shell. Abrin released during chewing is poorly absorbed systemically from the gastrointestinal tract. This causes the vomiting and diarrhea with resultant hypovolemia and electrolyte disturbances, which can be severe and life threatening, particularly in areas with less advanced health care systems. Management is primarily supportive.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attempted Suicide, by Mail Order: Abrus precatorius

2010

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“…Abrin is a toxalbumin that is found in the seeds of a plant called the lucky bean, rosary pea or jequirity pea Abrus precatorius. Abrin is similar to ricin but far more deadly than ricin, the toxin found in the seeds of the castor oil plant [11,12]. The different protein database bank (PDB) has enough information related to the toxic proteins.…”

Section: Ricin and Abrinmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Aptamers are generally evolved by a combinatorial biochemistry technique in which "Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential enrichment (SELEX)" take place [19,21] These molecules are designed to bind with high affinity and high specificity to wide range of molecular targets (apatopes), small organic molecules [9,10] protein molecules and to entire cell [12] (Figure 1). Due to their structural ability and diverse functionality in a wide range of pH and temperature make them ideal candidate for a broad spectrum of different in vivo tools [13][14][15].…”

Section: Selection Of Aptamersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Aptamers—A Promising Approach for Sensing of Biothreats Using Different Bioinformatics Tools

Sharma¹,

Sharma²

2013

SNL

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Intentional release of pathogens or biotoxin against humans, plants, or animals is an impending threat all over the world. Continuous monitoring of environment is required for their detection. These signals can help to distinguish whether the bioattack has occurred or not. Biosensors utilise biological response including different biochemical reactions, antigen antibody reactions, electrochemical reactions, aptameric reactions etc. The currently available biosensors have a limit of detection, specificity and less linearity which affect their sensitivity. Aptamers are single stranded oligonucleotides binding species which are capable of tightly binding to their distinguishing targets. They are evolved from random oligonucleotides pools by using different strategies. These are capable of conscientiously distinguishing their target ligands. They have high sensitivity and a wide range of detection limit. The versatility of nucleic acid based methods allowed for the design of specific aptamer sequences, typically on the order of 10 to 30 base pairs in length, identifying the different biothreat agents in the environment. By using different bioinformatics tools we can design RNA aptamers for toxins of lectin family.

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“…A. precatorious seeds enclose with toxic chemical constituent like abrin, abrussic acid, choline, urease, hypaphorine and much more alkaloids and steroidal oils (Gautam et al, 1998). The fatal dose of abrin is found to be 0.1-1 μg/kg in adults (Dickers et al, 2003). In classical texts of Ayurveda, several methods of purifications for A. precatorious were mentioned.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Pharmaceutical Study of White & Black Gunja (Abrus prectorius L.) Kernels

Gautam¹

2017

IJAHM

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A.precatorius (Gunja) is belonging to family fabaceae was usually known as crabs' eye, Indian liquorice. It is a woody twining found almost in all parts of India, ascending to an altitude of 3500 ft. In the classical texts of Rasa Shastra, A. precatorius is mentioned under Upavisha Gana (semi-poisonous). Several methods of purifications were mentioned in the classical text of Ayurveda. After proper purification, Gunja has been used as a treatment for various diseases like alopecia, itching, edema, urinary disorders, etc. Three seed varieties of Gunja and their different Shodhana methods were mentioned in the ancient classical literature. But there is no any clue who described that which method is superior to the other and in what respect. Therefore the current study was carried out to evaluate the comparative effect of Shodhana of white and black kernels of A. prectorius through Godugdha (cow's milk) and Kanji (sour gruel) by using phytochemical study. White and black varieties of kernels of A. prectorius were subjected to Swedana process (Shodhana) in cow milk and Kanji (sour gruel) separately for six and three hours respectively. After purification both samples were found decreased in weight, change in color and decrease the number of phytoconstituents was observed. In Ashodhit kernels of white Gunja (Wk), 3 spots, Shodhana with cow's milk 4 spots and Kanji Shodhita Gunja 7 spots were observed at different Rf values. While in Ashodhita kernels of black Gunja (Bk), 7 spots, Shodhana with milk 5 spots and Kanji Shodhita Gunja 6 spots were observed at different Rf values. White varieties of Gunja seed was found more prominent as compared with black seed.

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Abrin Poisoning

Cited by 135 publications

References 22 publications

Attempted Suicide, by Mail Order: Abrus precatorius

Attempted Suicide, by Mail Order: Abrus precatorius

Aptamers—A Promising Approach for Sensing of Biothreats Using Different Bioinformatics Tools

Comparative Pharmaceutical Study of White & Black Gunja (Abrus prectorius L.) Kernels

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