Ricin
It is probably not a criminal offence to gather, possess or sell any of them.
Ricin
Castor Beans, ricin [raissin], Ricinus communis is one of the most poisonous naturally occuring substances known. Don't eat!
The seeds from the castor bean plant, Ricinus communis, are poisonous to people, animals and insects. One of the main toxic proteins is "ricin", named by Stillmark in 1888 when he tested the beans' extract on red blood cells and saw them agglutinate. Now we know that the agglutination was due to another toxin that was also present, called RCA (Ricinus communis agglutinin). Ricin is a potent cytotoxin but a weak hemagglutinin, whereas RCA is a weak cytotoxin and a powerful hemagglutinin.
Poisoning by ingestion of the castor bean is due to ricin, not RCA, because RCA does not penetrate the intestinal wall, and does not affect red blood cells unless given intravenously. If RCA is injected into the blood, it will cause the red blood cells to agglutinate and burst by hemolysis.
Perhaps just a pinpoint of ricin can kill an adult
The symptoms of human poisoning begin within a few hours of ingestion.
The symptoms are:
- abdominal pain
- vomiting
- diarrhea, sometimes bloody.
Within several days there is:
- severe dehydration,
- a decrease in urine,
- and a decrease in blood pressure.
If death has not occurred in 3-5 days, the victim usually recovers
It is advisable to keep children away from the castor bean plant or necklaces made with ricin seeds. In fact don't even have ricin plants in or around a house with small children. If they ingest the leaves or swallow the seeds, they may get poisoned. The highly toxic ricin seeds beaded into necklaces, cause skin irritation at the contact point.
If the ricin seed is swallowed without chewing, and there is no damage to the seed coat, it will most likely pass harmlessly through the digestive tract. However, if it is chewed or broken and then swallowed, the ricin toxin will be absorbed by the intestines.
It is said that just one ricin seed can kill a child
Children are more sensitive than adults to fluid loss due to vomiting and diarrhea, and can quickly become severely dehydrated and die.
Castor bean plants in a garden should not be allowed to flower and seed.
Common terms: ricin, ricinus communis, castor bean plant, ricin poison, ricin plant, ricin toxin, ricin poisoning. How ricin was used as a poison, story by CNN.
Even more secrets about the ricin revealed