Toxin

A toxin (from Ancient Greek: τοξικόν toxikon) is a poisonous substance produced within living cells or organisms; synthetic toxicants created by artificial processes are thus excluded. The term was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849–1919).

Toxins can be small molecules, peptides, or proteins that are capable of causing disease on contact with or absorption by body tissues interacting with biological macromolecules such as enzymes or cellular receptors. Toxins vary greatly in their severity, ranging from usually minor (such as a bee sting) to almost immediately deadly (such as botulinum toxin).

Terminology

Toxins are often distinguished from other chemical agents by their method of production—the word toxin does not specify method of delivery (compare with venom and the narrower meaning of poison—all substances that can also cause disturbances to organisms). It simply means it is a biologically produced poison. There was an ongoing terminological dispute between NATO and the Warsaw Pact over whether to call a toxin a biological or chemical agent, in which the NATO opted for biological agent, and the Warsaw Pact, like most other countries in the world, for chemical agent.

Toxin (disambiguation)

A toxin is a poisonous substance produced within living cells or organisms. Toxin may also refer to:

See also

Detoxification (alternative medicine)

Detoxification (also sometimes called body cleansing) in the context of alternative medicine consists of an approach that aims to rid the body of "toxins" – accumulated harmful substances that allegedly exert undesirable effects on individual health in the short or long term. Detoxification usually includes one or more of the following: dieting, fasting, consuming exclusively or avoiding specific foods (such as fats, carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables, juices, herbs, or water), colon cleansing, chelation therapy, or the removal of dental fillings.

The British organisation Sense About Science has described some detox diets and commercial products as "a waste of time and money"; many researchers agree that there is no clinical evidence that such diets are effective. The "toxins" usually remain undefined, with little to no evidence of toxic accumulation in the patient.

Background

Suspicions of the inefficacy of purging became widespread by the 1830s.Biochemistry and microbiology appeared to support auto-intoxication theory in the 19th century, but by the early twentieth century detoxification-based approaches quickly fell out of favour. Even though abandoned by mainstream medicine, the idea has persisted in the popular imagination and amongst alternative-medicine practitioners. In recent years, notions of body cleansing have undergone something of a resurgence, along with many other alternative medical approaches. Nonetheless, mainstream medicine continues to produce evidence that the field is unscientific and anachronistic.