Toxicity to Animals and Humans

Ozone is an extremely powerful oxidizing agent, which explains its toxicity to animals and humans. At partial pressures as low as 10 7 atm, it can cut in half the rate of photosynthesis by plants. 

Some very interesting examples of the effect of soils on the nutritional quality of plants are associated with selenium. The element has not been found to be required by plants, but it is required in very small amounts by warm-blooded animals and probably by humans. However, selenium in larger quantities can be very toxic to animals and humans. 

Toxicity Aniline is highly toxic to animals and humans. The acute oral LD50 in laboratory rats is 440 mg/kg. Humans exposed to aniline have demonstrated severe headache, narcosis, body tremors, cardiac arrhythmia, coma, and death. Bladder tumors associated with amines and dye industry workers is not well established, since the IARC has classified aniline as a group 3 carcinogen (not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity). NIOSH has labeled the chemical with sufficient evidence to recommend it as a potential occupational carcinogen.70 71... 

Toxicity O-Toluidine is highly toxic to animals and humans and is rapidly absorbed by oral, dermal, and inhalation routes. The acute oral LD50 in rats ranges from 900 to 940 mg/kg.78,83 The compound is known to cause adverse effects in workers that include headache, irritation of skin, eye, kidneys, and bladder, and hematuria. O-Toluidine has caused hepatocellular adenomas and carcinomas in experimental mice and rats. 

Toxicity Propyl alcohol is not known to cause toxicity to animals and humans unless it is used improperly. Propyl alcohol vapor in high concentrations causes mild irritation to eyes, conjunctiva, and mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract, and CNS depression.111... 

The xylenes are widely used as solvents and various other industrial products. In general, xylenes are acutely toxic to animals and humans only at higher concentrations and through chronic exposure. 

Organophosphate pesticides (OPPs) are potent neurotoxins and extremely toxic to animals and humans. They function by inhibiting the action of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in nerve cells. The OPPs are known as the most common causes of poisoning worldwide. 

Qinghao (Sweet Wormwood) is the dried aerial parts of the herb Artemisia annua L. (Asteraceae family), which has been used in China for centuries to treat fever and malaria. Artemisinin (Nl) (Qing Hao Su) (128), the active principle, directly kills Plasmodium falciparum (malaria parasites) with little toxicity to animals and humans. Thus, it is a clinically effective, safe, and rapid antimalarial agent (129, 130). The novel endo-peroxide link is essential for the antimalarial activity. 

Functionally, pyrethroids are a group of insect growth regulators that act as neurotoxins resisting the development of insect larvae. They are especially effective against insects that are destructive in the adult stage. They are considered non-toxic to animals and humans. Pyrethrum consists of dried flower heads of chrysanthemum. The plant is a native of Dalmatia (Yugoslavia-Balkans) and is now widely cultivated in Kenya, East Central Africa, Japan, Brazil, Ecuador, and India. 

Battelli MG (2004). Cytotoxicity and toxicity to animals and humans of ribosome-inactivating proteins. Mini Rev Med Chem, 4, 513-521. 

While these considerations have greatly narrowed the list of possible replacements, a large number of candidate antifreeze agents still exist. As an illustration of the methods that could be used, we will consider only two compounds here propylene glycol, which is very similar to ethylene glycol but is much less toxic, and n-pentanol, which is toxic to animals and humans. However, since it has a bitter rather than a sweet taste, it is unlikely that lethal amounts would be ingested ... 

---