Toxicology

Second semester 2022/2023

Fifth year Students
Homework 2
Dr. Mohammed Shbair
‫اإلسم هديل هشام محمد بريكة‬
20181600 ‫الرقم الجامعي‬
Group B
Answer The following questions:

1.Give 3 different definitions of toxicology? What is meant by:

xenobiotics, poison, toxicant, toxin.

Toxicology:

* is the science of xenobiotics .

* Is the study of adverse or toxic effects of both natural or man made

agents to living organisms.

* Is the science of poisons .

Xenobiotics: agent which is foreign to the body .

Poison: any agent that causes harm if it gets into the body .

Toxicant: any chemical that can injure or kill living organisms .

Toxin: any poisonous agent of microbial, plant, or animal origin that

reacts with specific cellular components to kill cells, alter growth or
development, or kill the organisms .

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2. Give the difference between “science” and “art”, indicating the
relationship between them?

Science: observational and data-gathering phase .

Art: utilization of the data to predict outcomes of exposure in human

and animal populations .

*** The science and art are linked together as facts generated by
the science of toxicology are used to develop hypotheses (or
predictions) to explain the adverse effects of a chemical in situation
where there is little or no information.

3. Differentiate between “descriptive-”, “regulatory-”, “clinical-” and

food-toxicology” as areas of toxicology?

Descriptive: dealing with gathering toxicological information from

animal experimentation .

Regulatory: dealing with gathering and evaluating existing

toxicological information to establish concentration-based standards of
"safe exposure" .

Clinical: dealing with identification, diagnosis, and treatment of

diseases and illness associated with short-term or long-term exposure to
environmental, therapeutic, or illicit drugs or chemicals .

Food toxicology: it's delivering a safe and edible supply of food to

consumer .

4. How the toxic agents are classified according to poisoning potential?

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 *** The toxic agents classified based on the probable oral lethal dose
for man " how toxic is this chemical"

Supertoxic agents that are lethal when taken orally in dosages on the order of. < 5 **
.mg/kg body weight

Extremely toxic agents that are lethal when taken orally in dosages on the order of 5- **
.50 mg/kg body weight

Very toxic agents that are lethal when taken orally in dosages on the order of. 50- **
.500 mg/kg body weight

Moderately toxic are those substances that are lethal when taken orally in dosages on **
.the order of 0.5-5 g/kg body weight

Slightly toxic agents that are lethal when taken orally in dosages on the order of 5-15 **
.g/kg body weight

Practically nontoxic agents that are lethal when taken orally in dosages on the order of **
.>15 g/kg body weight

5. Describe briefly natural toxins, household products, and food additives

as types of toxic agents?

Natural toxins: toxic substances produced by animals or plants for

both defensive and offensive purposes, which have many chemical types
that cause various toxic effects

Household: the substances as pesticides, solvents, and drugs. Which

cause the toxic effects on the skin, stomach, tissues and different organs
damage when exposed to it as herbicide paraquat, caustic soda,
acetaminophen.

Food additives: it's foreign substances low biological activity which

are directly ingested, and causes some toxic and adverse effects when

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ingested small amount daily for long term, these substances are added
to food to alter the flavor or color, prevent spoilage, or in some other
way change the nature of foodstuffs .

6. Give the type of exposure for the following: intentional ingestion,

accidental poisoning, and environmental exposure?

Intentional ingestion: chronic or repeated exposure .

Accidental poisoning: acute exposure.

Environmental exposure: usually chronic, but sometimes acute from

accidentally situation.

7. Give the important features of: adverse drug reaction, toxic effect,
allergic reactions, and idiosyncratic reactions?

Adverse drug reaction: predictable type I reaction

** noxious, unintended, and occurs at closes normally used in man for

the prophylaxis, diagnosis, or therapy of disease.

** based on the same action as therapeutic effect or in different

mechanism of action.

** The occurrence and intensity of an adverse reaction for a particular

drug vary from patient to patient depending on the drug, patient, and
dose.

Toxic effects: predictable type I reaction

** describe degree or extent to which a drug or chemical can be

poisonous, and thus harmful to the human body.

** result from overdose or prolonged exposure to drug or chemical .

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** may be reversible or irreversible, immediate or delayed, local or
systemic.

Allergic reaction: unpredictable type II reaction

** immunologically mediated adverse reaction to a chemical resulting

from previous sensitization to that chemical, or to a structurally similar
one.

** various organ systems, and range in severity from minor skin rashes
to fatal anaphylactic shock.

** Allergic reactions have been divided into four general categories

(type I to type IV), depending on the mechanism of immunological
involvement.

Idiosyncratic reaction: unpredictable type II reaction,

** genetically determined abnormal reactivity to a chemical.

** The response observed is usually qualitatively similar to that

observed in all individuals, but may take the form of extreme sensitively
to low doses, or extreme insensitivity to high doses of the chemical.

8. Give examples of the following: reversible, immediate, irreversible,

local, and systemic toxic effects?

** Reversible: liver injury .

** Irreversible: CNS injury, teratogenic, carcinogenic effects of drug .

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**Immediate: bleeding from heparin, coma from barbiturates

**Local: inhalation of irritant gas, ingestion of caustic substances .

**Systemic: lead toxicity, DDT toxicity.

9. Give the differences between the following (give one example):

additive effect, potentiation effect, functional antagonism, receptor
antagonism?

Additive effect: combined effects of two chemicals is equal to the sum

of the effects of each agent given alone as organophosphates insecticides .

Potentiation effect: one substance does not have a toxic effect on a

certain organ or system, but when added to another chemical makes
that chemical much more toxic, as isopropanol is not hepatotoxic, but
when it is administrated in addition to carbon tetrachloride, the
hepatotoxicity of carbon tetrachloride is much greater than is the case
when it is given alone.

functional antagonism: two chemicals counter balance each other by

producing opposite effects on the same physiologic function, as
convulsions occur by some toxic agents antagonize by anticonvulsant as
benzodiazepines .

Receptor antagonism: two chemicals that bind to the same receptor

produce lees of an effect when given together than the addition of their
separate effects, as use of oxygen in the treatment of carbon monoxide
poisoning.

10. What is selective toxicity? What are its advantages?

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Selective toxicity: chemical produces injury to one kind of living
matter without harming another form of life even though the two may
exist in intimate contact .

Advantage: biological diversity of organisms cause less adverse effects

on the economic and harmful to uneconomic.

11. Metabolism and dosage are two important factors affecting the
toxicity of a drug or a chemical. Explain?

Metabolism: there are two types of metabolism

**Detoxification: convert compound to less toxic form .

**Bioactivation: convert compound to more toxic form .

Dosage: it's important to determine the toxicity acute or chronic.

** Large dosage can be acute for all chemicals

** The organ and mechanism of action for toxic agents various to

produce acute and chronic toxicity according to the same dosage.