Ricin (object)

Ricin (ricinus communis) is a highly toxic substance created from castor bean extract. "A volume roughly the size of a grain of table salt would be a fatal dose for an adult." -Peter Carrington, a toxic plant specialist at Michigan State University. Ricin kills by inhibiting the production of certain crucial amino acids within cells. A protein itself, ricin prevents cells from generating other proteins, causing widespread cellular failure. Death occurs within thirty six to seventy two hours of ingestion.

Symptoms of ricin poisoning vary based on the method of contraction and the amount absorbed into the body. They include but are not limited to: tightness in the chest, sweating, skin redness, cough, pain, inflammation, extreme thirst, severe nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, difficulty swallowing, internal bleeding, bloody feces and urine, vomiting blood, shock, organ failure, coma, death. Ricin has been weaponized as a chemical weapon, most notably in the assassination of Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian dissident who was shot with a tiny ricin pellet using a modified umbrella. Ricin is a "class 1 controlled substance" under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention. However, the plant from which castor beans grow is a commonly sold decorative flower that can be grown at home without any special care. This makes production of ricin difficult to enforce.

There are no known cures to ricin, although several experimental vaccines are being tested by the US and UK military. Currently, there is a patent pending for a potential commercial anitdote to ricin, although the inventor has chosen to remain anonymous.