Jequirity bean

CASTOR BEAN, JEQUIRITY BEAN Handbook of Poisons 

The castor bean plant (Ricinus communis) is grown for commercial and ornamental purposes. The residue or pomace after castor oil extraction of castor beans gives rise to dust which may cause sensitivity reactions or poisoning. 

Jequirity (rosary bean, Abrus precatorius) is grown as an ornamental vine in tropical climates. The beans are 6 mm. (1/4 inch) long, bright orange with one black end. They are used as rosary beads and as decorations for costumes. 

Ingestion of only one castor or jequirity bean ha caused fatal poisoning when the beans were thoroughly chewed. If the beans are swallowed whole, poisoning is unlikely because the hard seed coat prevents rapid absorption. 

It is obvious that such a mixture as this would form an exceedingly combustible compound but it could not possess any of those marvelous qualities which were attribaced to the Greek Are. It could not bom under water, though some substances, os will presently be explained, have this property. 

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Abnisbohne,/. jequirity bean, abrussecht, a. fast to rubbing, not crocking, abrussen, v.i. (of colored goods) rub off, crock, abrtisten. v.i. disarm. —v.t. dismount, abrutschen, v.i. slip, slide (off or down). — v.t. wear off or out. 

Delayed-action cytotoxins that inhibits protein synthesis (ribosomal inactivating protein). They are obtained from the seed of the Jequirity beans plant (Abrus precatorius). Typically yellowish-white powders that are insoluble in distilled water but soluble in salt water. They are fairly heat stable. 

Abrin, from jequirity beans (Abrus precatorius), resembles ricin so closely in its action that the difference was established only when it was noted that immunity against one did not constitute immunity against the other. 

Fernando, C. (2001). Poisoning due to Abrus precatorius (jequirity bean). Anaesthesia 56 1178-80. 

Hart, M. (1963). Hazards to health jequirity-bean poisoning. N. Engl. J. Med. 268 885-6. 

Niyogi, S.K. (1977). Elevation ofenzyme levels in serum due to dhrui precatorius (jequirity bean) poisoning. Toxicon 15 577-780. 

Swanson-Biearman, B., Dean, B.S., Krenzelok, E.P. (1992). Failure of whole bowel irrigation to decontaminate the GI tract following massive jequirity bean ingestion [abst.]. Vet. Hum. Toxicol. 34 352-7. 

Abrin is a plant source Type 2 RIP. It is found in Abrus precatorius (rosary pea, Indian licorice, jequirity bean). The toxicology of abrin is considered to be very similar to ricin. A similar Abrus toxin is pulchellin, produced by A. pul-chellus (Millard and LeClaire, 2008). The rosary pea has been reported to be more toxic than castor beans (Griffiths et al, 1994). Species sensitivity is variable and horses are considered to be the most sensitive. The mature goat is considered to be a more resistant species and 2 g of seed/kg body weight is reported as a lethal dose. The lethal dose for cattle is reported at 600 mg of seed/kg body weight. It is likely that abrin is denatured in the rumen (Burrows and Tyrl, 2001). 

There is limited commercial production of the jequirity bean. The rosary pea is grown as an ornamental plant and has escaped into the wild in the warmer climate in the USA. 

Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number CAS 1393-62-0. Abrin is a toxalbumin similar in structure, absorption, and mechanism of action to ricin but is found not in castor beans but rather in jequirity beans. No reports of its use as a battlefield or terrorist agent exist, but in mice it is 75 times more potent than ricin. No specific treatment is available. Both ricin and abrin are type 2 ribosomal inhibitory proteins (RIPs) the other potent toxins in this class are Eranthis hyemalis lectin (EHL) from winter aconite, modeccin and volkensin from African succulents, and viscumin from mistletoe. 

There are no known therapeutic uses for the jequirity bean, but they are used decoratively. 

Acute manifestations of jequirity bean toxicity in animals are similar to those found in humans. 

Hart M (1963) Hazards to health - Jequirity-bean poisoning. New England Journal of Medicine 268 885-886. 

Jequirity Bean, Page 657, Brenda Swanson-Biearman SummaryPlus Full Text + Links PDF (33 K)... 

Gunsoulus, J.M. (1955) JAMA editors response to author s query toxicity of jequirity beans. JAMA, 157, 779. 

Agent Index A269 Class Index C22 Abrin is a cytotoxin that inhibits protein synthesis. Obtained from the jequirity beans plant. 

Abrin is a plant toxin, which is closely related to ricin in terms of its structure and chemical properties. It is obtained from the seeds of Abrus pre-catorius (commonly known as jequirity bean or rosary pea ), a tropical vine cultivated as an ornamental plant in many locations. Jequirity beans are usually scarlet in colour with a black spot at one end (though less common different coloured varieties exist) and are approximately 3x8 mm in size. 

Frohne et al. (1984) described the clinical course of a man who presented with severe gastroenteritis after ingesting a powder made from jequirity beans. He developed acute pancreatitis, leucocytosis, bloody ascites, increased serum amylase and lipase activities, hypocalcaemia and diabetes mellitus. Moreover, in addition to delirium, hallucinations, reduced consciousness and generalized seizures, he also developed a hemi-paresis. Respiratory depression necessitated ventilation for 10 days but all symptoms improved gradually over the following three weeks. Neurological recovery was complete. 

Death has occurred up to four days after the onset of symptoms (Davis, 1978). Autopsies performed on three patients revealed that ingestion of jequirity beans mainly affected the gastrointestinal tract, with haemorrhage, erythema and oedema (Davis, 1978). Moderate cerebral oedema was also noted. 

Abrin applied to the eye causes severe inflammation of the conjunctiva with localized necrosis (Grant and Schuman, 1993). At the end of the 19th Century, the extract of jequirity bean was used therapeutically for its inflammatory properties, to treat various eye complaints including trachoma. However, the inflammation produced was very difficult to control and, in some cases, the use of this infusion resulted in permanent damage to the cornea, and occasionally blindness (Grant and Schuman, 1993). 

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