MODULE FORENSIC CHEMISTRY AND TOXICOLOGY

CHAPTER 8: TOXICOLOGY

Objectives:
a) Understand the principle of toxicology and the specialized
fields under it.
b) Distinguish the different classification of poisons
c) Increase understanding in posology and the dose concept

PRINCIPLES OF TOXICOLOGY

❖ Toxicology – the scientific study of the nature,

properties and effects on living organism and detection
of poisons and the treatment of poisoning.

❖ Importance of Toxicology
o To verify if it is a case of poisoning
o To be able to treat as the occasion demands
o To forward justice

❖ Paracelcus (16th century) – German-Swiss

physician/ alchemist and Father of Modern Toxicology.
The first one who studied chemical nature of poison and introduce dose concept.

❖ Specialized fields in Toxicology

▪ Descriptive Toxicology – involves toxicity testing of chemicals providing information
for safety evaluation and regulatory requirements.
▪ Mechanistic Toxicology – concerns with identifying and understanding mechanisms
by which chemicals exert toxic effects on living organism.
▪ Regulatory Toxicology – involves in decisions, based on data provided by
descriptive and mechanistic toxicology, whether a chemical poses a sufficiency low
risk capable for consumers for stated purposes.
▪ Forensic Toxicology – concerns primarily with the medico-legal aspects of the
harmful effects of chemicals on human and animals.
▪ Clinical Toxicology – concerns with disease caused by or uniquely associated with
toxic substances.

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▪ Environmental Toxicology – focused on the impacts of the chemical pollutants in

the environment on biological organisms.
▪ Occupational Toxicology – study of the adverse effects of agents that may be
encountered by workers during the course of their employment.

❖ Risk and Exposure

o Risk – the potential likehood that injury will occur in a given situation
o Exposure - is the amount of chemical that is available for absorption
o Safety – the probability that harm will not occur under specified conditions

❖ Risk = (Toxicity) x (Exposure)

CLASSIFICATION OF POISONS

❖ Poison – is a substance that when introduce

into or absorbed by a living organism in sufficient
amounts causes death or injury, chemically producing
a morbid or noxious condition.
- is a substance capable of producing adverse
effect on an individual under appropriate conditions.
▪ Adverse effects – refers to the injury (structural
damage of tissues)
▪ Appropriate condition – the dosage of the
substance that is sufficient to cause this adverse
effect.

❖ Classification of Poisons
• According to the Source of Origin
1. Animal Toxin – poison produced by living organism stimulates through the
production of antibodies. The toxins are usually transferred through
bites and stings of venomous terrestrial or marine animals. (e.g.
poisonous snakes, scorpions, ants, jellyfish and stingrays)

2. Vegetable – poison derived from plants. (e.g. ivy and jimsonweed

plants, mercuric Chloride-acid poison use as herbicides)

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3. Mineral – poison derived from mineral deposits. (e.g. Hydrochloric

acid, caustic alkali)

4. Microbial – produce or made up of microscopic organisms (e.g.

bacteria and fungi)

5. Synthetic – usually synthesized (manufactured) by Chemist in

laboratories and plants. (e.g. drugs, pesticides as well as chemicals purified
from natural sources such as metals from ores and solvents from gasoline)

• Pufferfish (blowfish, swellfish, globefish, puffers or Fugu)

o These poisonous marine fish are from the family
Tetraodontidae meaning “four toothed fish”. There
are about 120 species of puffers, their habitat varies,
but generally are found in warm, shallow tropical to
sub-tropical waters of West Indies, Japan, China,
Philippines, Mexico and Taiwan. In Southern Asia
and Philippines, they can be found on rivers and
mangroves. In Japan, the fish are considered a
delicacy to eat.
o The fishes’ skin, liver, gonads and muscle contain a toxin called Tetrodoxin (TTX).
The toxin is heat stable so cooking or freezing does not reduce potency. Specially
trained chefs are the only one certified to prepare the sushi.

• According to Chemical Properties

1. Volatile poisons – poisonous substance capable of converting from liquid to gas
without the application of heat.
• These compounds can be isolated using steam distillation and analyzed using
GC or Gas Chromatography with thermal head attached on it or Mass
Spectroscopy as the detector.
• Steam Distillation – is a special type of distillation use in separating volatile
and temperature sensitive substance using the steam as the source of heat.
2. Gases – class of poisons usually not chemically detectable however some may
be isolated from blood or lung tissue. (e.g. carbon monoxide, chlorine etc)
3. Non-volatile poison – most of drugs is non-volatile. They can be extracted using
acid and basic medium in a suitable solvent.
4. Anions – usual examples are household chemicals. These range of poison are
usually inorganic in nature.
5. Metallic – usually encountered in places near mining
6. Miscellaneous (e.g. Pesticides)

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• According to Physical form/ property

• Physical form (solid, liquid, gas, vapor or aerosol) influences the exposure and
absorbability. Solid are not well absorbed into the blood; they must be dissolved
in aqueous liquid lining the intestinal tract if ingested or respiratory tract if inhaled.

• Psychological Action – Brundage

1. Irritants – by direct contact, this poison inflames the mucous membrane of the
parts it comes in contact resulting nausea, vomiting, pain, and diarrhea
2. Corrosives – by direct contact, chemically produces local destruction of tissues
3. Neurotics – those that affect the central nervous system
4. Aesthetics/Exhaustive – poisons that caused marked loss of vital or muscular
power or general weakness

o Three types of poison action in

the body
a. Systemic poisons – act on the
specific target organ.
b. General – act on every part it
attached.
c. Cumulative poison – is one that
increases suddenly in its intensity of
action after gradual addition of it.

TYPES OF POISONING

• Acute Exposure: is the condition wherein the animal is exposed to a chemical for less than
24 hours usually in a single dose or in divided doses with 13 hours; for the inhalational route,
exposure is continuous for 4 hours.
• Subacute Exposure: involves repeated daily exposure of the animal to the chemical for less
than one month (usually 21 days) by a specific route.
• Sub Chronic Exposure: involves repeated daily exposure of the animal to the chemical for
90 days or three months
• Chronic Exposure: the animal is exposed to the chemical throughout its lifetime: for 2 years
in rats and mice, or even longer for dogs and non-human primates.

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• Four Elements of Poisoning

1. Poison
2. The poisoned organism
3. The injury to the cells
4. Symptoms and the signs of death

CONDITIONS MODIFYING THE EFFECTS OF POISON

A. Those relating to the organism itself

• Age, sex and physical state – usually middle-aged persons tolerate more than the
aged or children although there are some exceptions.
• Idiosyncrasy – this is the term applied when an individual exhibits peculiar, unusual
reactions to certain substances. This unusual sensitiveness may be qualitative or
quantitative. Many persons react severely with lobsters, shrimps etc.
• Habit – repeated small dotes of a poison generally lessen the effect. Habitual
morphine users are pertinent examples, very large doses being necessary to produce
the desired effect.
• Tolerance – some individuals exhibit a very noteworthy resistance to the action of
certain poisons. This resistance or tolerance is natural, not having been acquired by
habituation. Thus, some persons may take large doses of morphine without any
apparent effect.
• Disease – this may cause an increase or diminished susceptibility to drugs. Thus,
renal diseases increase susceptibility to drugs.
• Exhaustion – tends to increase susceptibility
• Sleep – tends to diminish or retard the action of poisons due to lessened functional
activity.

B. Those relating to the poison

1. The physical state or form of poison – more rapidly absorbed in gaseous than in solid
or liquid form, also the solvent containing the poison exerts a marked effect upon its
action. Thus, of alcoholic, watery or oily solution, the first is more rapidly absorbed.
2. Dilution – the dilution of a poison tends to favor rapid absorption and therefore intensifies
the toxic effect. An exemption to this is seen in corrosive poisons, which becomes less
detrimental when diluted.
3. Solubility of the drugs – for a substance to act as a poison it must be capable of forming
solution and readily absorbed by the blood

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4. Mode of administration – usually poisons are less rapidly absorbed when taken orally.
The intravenous route produces more rapid effects
5. Dose – as a rule, the grater size, the grater the
effect. This is not always true. Arsenic in large
doses irritates the stomach causing vomiting
and prompt injection of the poison so that few
or no symptoms result. In small doses,
absorption occurs and terminates fatally.
6. Association with other poisons – this may
increase the effect as morphine and chloral
together has a greater effect than alone.
Sometimes, combining poisons decreases
their effects.
7. Condition of the surface where applied –
where the blood supply is greater, absorption
is more rapid. Thus, it is more rapid in muscles
than into skin. Food in the stomach may delay
absorption for it hinders absorption or reacts
with the poison.

POSOLOGY (TYPES OF DOSE AND ANTIDOTES)

❖ Posology (dosage) is a science which deals with the

study of the dosage of medicine to be administered within
a certain period. The medical or pharmacological study of
the dosages of medicines and drugs.
❖ Medicine is any substance administered to correct or
alleviate the disease or disordered state of the system.
❖ Dose is the quantity of medicine to be administered at
one time.
❖ The dose concept is important because according to it even water is poisonous if too much
is ingested. Whether the drug acts as therapy or poison, it will depend on the dose.

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• Types of Dose
1. Safe dose – is one that do not cause harmful effects. Sometimes, however, it may be too
small to produce the desired effects.
2. Minimum dose – is the smallest amount of
medicine that can produce the desired therapeutic effect
without causing harm.
3. Maximum dose – the largest amount of that will
cause no injury but at the same time can produced the
desired therapeutic effect.
4. Toxic or poisonous dose – is one that is
harmful both to the healthy and the sick
5. Lethal or fatal dose – dose that kills.

❖ Antidotes is any agent that neutralize a poison or otherwise counteracts or opposes its
effects.
❖ To act as an antidote, it may:
1. Remove the poison from the body: emetic
2. It may mechanically prevent its absorption (demulcent): cathartic
3. It may change the physical state or chemical composition
4. It may act upon the functions of the body as so to overcome the effects of its absorption.

❖ Kinds of Antidotes
1. Chemical or true or specific – antidote is one that makes the
poison harmless by chemically altering it.
2. Mechanical antidote or antidotal measure – is an agent that
removes the poison without changing it, or so coats the surface
of the organ that absorption is prevented.
3. Physiological antidote or antagonist or symptomatic
antidote – an agent that acts upon the system so as to
counteracts the effect of the poison.

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EMETICS AND CATHARTICS

❖ Emetic is an agent that causes vomiting.

• Kinds of Emetic
1. Local emetics – are those agents that produce their
effects by irritating the terminal nerve filaments of the parts they
come in contact.
2. Systemic emetics

❖ Cathartic is an agent that produces intestinal evacuation

o Uses:
▪ To remove the compound that formed by the action of the chemical antidote
▪ To hasten elimination of poison
❖ Demulcent: an agent that forms a protective film soothes and protect the parts they are
applied
❖ Precipitants: are substances that prevent absorption of poisons by precipitating them and
rendering them insoluble.

References:
http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=30714
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/idiosyncrasy
Viccelio, Peter, Emergency Toxicology, 2nd edition Lippincott – Raven Publisher, Philadelphia, 1998
Poison and Poison Investigation, New York.
Eckert, William G, Introduction to Forensic Sciences, The Elsevier Science Publishing Co; Inc and CRC Press
LLC, New York. 1992 and 1997.
Sunico, Lorenzo A, Forensic Toxicology, NBI Manila
Sunico, Lorenzo A, Forensic Chemistry, NBI Manila

LINKS

TOPIC LINK FOR VIDEO

Toxicology https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0NNyjVvnYo&t=86s

6 'Undetectable' Poisons (and How to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqqWdaaTq7A
Detect Them)

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