Toxic agents and their targets

The specific type of harm we call cancer is left to later chapters, because it is so important and because there are so many aspects of cancer initiation and development that are unique. It would be a mistake 

Botulinum toxins are a collection of protein molecules that are extraordinarily poisonous to the nervous system. These toxins are metabolic 

Sucrose, which we all know as table sugar, can also be acutely toxic. I cannot locate any evidence of humans being killed by a dose of table sugar, but toxicologists can force enough into rats to cause death. A lethal dose of sucrose in rats is in the range of 20 000 mg/kg b.w. That is about as non-toxic as chemicals get to be. If humans are equally 

Toxicity rating Probable lethal oral dose for humans  

1 Practically non-toxic more than 15 000 More than 1 quart 

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Because our intention in this book is to emphasize principles and not toxic agents, we shall here complete the survey of toxic agents and their targets. Although many of the examples presented are environmental chemicals of considerable importance (e.g., CO, Pb, Hg), the examples were chosen primarily to illustrate certain principles of... 

There are limited options for curative control allowed under organic agriculture guidelines, which vary from country to country. Curatives are inputs to the crop production system that are applied after a pest or pathogen has established in the crop, and threatens to reduce yields if action is not taken. Table 4.1 provides a representative list of botanically derived pesticides, microbial agents and other naturally available materials typically approved under organic standards. These materials vary in their toxicity levels and non-target effects. 

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