See even snakes venom is medicinal, so all toxic plants have some medicinal value, some of which we know whereas some are yet to be discovered....
---------------- The toxin present in Abrus precatorius is a close relative to ricin called abrin. It is a dimer consisting of two protein subunits, termed A and B. The B chain facilitates abrin's entry into a cell by bonding to certain transport proteins on cell membranes, which then transport the toxin into the cell. Once inside the cell, the A chain prevents protein synthesis by inactivating the 26S subunit of the ribosome. One molecule of abrin will inactivate up to 1,500 ribosomes per second. Symptoms are identical to those of ricin, except abrin is more toxic by several orders of magnitude; the fatal dose of ricin is approximately 75 times greater than the fatal dose of abrin. Abrin can kill with a circulating amount of less than 3 μg (micrograms). SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abrus_precatorius ---------------------------- In Chotanagpur plateau, these seeds are used as abortifacient by some tribals. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "indiantreepix" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.co.in/group/indiantreepix?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
