Quote:
Originally Posted by Botnst
It's been nearly 30 years since I had an entomology course so I am not totally sure of this.
I think nicotinic acid binds to acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter. It works through ingestion while feeding and disables the digestive tract first and then into the circulatory system with death nearly inevitable. The reason that DDT (and subsequently developed chlorinated hydrocarbons) supplanted nicotinic acid is that it was more effective wt/wt.
Also, nicotinic acid degrades rather quickly and is non-specific. Peragro will probably NOT volunteer to eat a spoonful of nicotinic acid.
|
I think I'd be ok with a bit of nicotinic acid. It's also known as niacin or Vitimin B3. It was first derived from nicotine but folks didn't want to have people confusing it with nicotine, hence,
Nicotinic
acid + vitim
in
I think what you're talking about is the difference between organochlorate and organophosphate compounds.
Organochlorides (OC) are compounds like DDT and Dioxin. Contrary to popular belief, they are not the most toxic compounds out there; made or natural. Interesting tid bit of info - there's probably a whole lot of natural dioxin in SoCal here just recently due to the forest fires (high heat causes it to form). OCs bioaccumulate which is the main detractor to their use. A lot of the science behind what they do and what they don't do is quite faulty; esp. the link to bird species decline.
Nevertheless, they were declared nasty and we moved on to organophosphates (OP). Organophosphates are found in nerve agents and many pesticides. The nerve agents and the pesticides both interfere with acetocholinesterase (ACE) which is an enzyme that is critical to nerve impulse propogation. Carbamates also kill ACE but by a different mechanism. OPs degrade quickly in the environment.
Both groups of chemcials are extremely useful when used within reason. Note the key words here are "within reason".
An interesting mnemonic to help you know when you've been poisoned by an OP is SLUDS. It gives you all the OP poisoning symptoms:
Salivation
Lacrimation
Urination
Defecation
Sweating
Just in case you get caught in a big spray of Malathion or Diazenon.
Nicotine is a very potent poison. Exposures to that mimic the OP symptoms. It's not attacking the immune system but rather the nicotinic acetocholine receptors. Nerves again - it's why you feel a rush when you smoke a cig, esp. if you're a non-smoker. Also a good reason to prevent little kids from eating cigarette butts unless you'd like to spend some quality time in the ER. Nicotine based pesticides work in a similar manner on bugs.
In all cases it's important to remember what Paracelsus said "the dose makes the poison".