RICIN

If you've watched "Stand By Me" a movie based on "The Body" by Stephen King, you might remember the scene where Lardass drank a bunch of castor oil mixed with a raw egg. He then participated in a pie eating contest. After eating a load of pies, he hurled all over other contestants, which led to a chaotic scene of puking. It was his revenge for being the butt of everyone's jokes. 

Most likely the castor oil would have caused a loose situation regarding the poop chute and not vomiting unless a sensitivity or allergy was already present.

But there is something far more dangerous when it comes to castor beans, which is what castor oil is refined from. A toxin so terrifying and so lethal the amount needed to kill an adult is just 300 micrograms—about the size of a grain of salt. It is known by one of the most wicked names around. 

Ricin! 

What is it? Some double-bad shit is what it is. But I'll come back to that. 

Pinpointing when I first became interested in ricin is difficult. My guess is I first heard of it on "Forensic Files" or a show similar. But that's neither here nor there. 

Recently, though, I needed to do some research on poisons or toxins to help me complete a short story (which I still haven't done yet), and during some brainstorming, I remembered ricin. I needed something lethal and a way it can be used in an airborne transmission. So, I looked it up. 

Ricin comes from the castor bean, which is the same place castor oil comes from. So how is it one product is relatively safe to use, or be in contact with, and the other deadly? Well, it comes down to where and how it's harvested. 

Castor oil is made from the seed's oils whereas ricin comes from from the proteins, and can be produced from the waste or "mash" from the processing of the castor seed (bean). 

Ricin attacks the ribosomes in the cells and destroys the ability for the cell to process proteins, which will eventually kill the cells. Without functioning cells, organs fail, and ultimately organ failure will lead to death. 

There's no antidote for ricin. 

Since ricin poisoning possesses the same symptoms of many other illnesses, and not knowing you were poisoned reduces any chance of survival, which is minimal at best, anyway. Symptoms are different according to route of exposure. 

For inhalation: respiratory distress, fever, cough, nausea. A tightness in the chest and cyanosis of the skin, which is a bluish coloring. 

For ingestion: vomiting and diarrhea, potentially bloody, low blood pressure and dehydration. 

Ricin doesn't work as fast on the body's functions as other toxins do, such as cyanide, which can kill in minutes. Depending on the route of exposure, and the amount exposed to, death may occur between 36-72 hours. 

Ricin has no antidote. Did I mention that already? Yes, I did. 

I found ricin in in the top ten deadliest poisons known to man, and in the top five naturally occurring poisons. 

For more information:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/04/28/castor-oil-to-treat-health-conditions.aspx

http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/ricin/facts.asp

http://science.howstuffworks.com/question722.htm

http://listverse.com/2013/04/03/10-poisons-and-their-horrifying-effects

http://itsmejohnsmith.hubpages.com/hub/5-Deadliest-Poisons-Known-to-Man-and-Their-Effects