Precatory-pea
General poisoning notes:
Precatory-pea (Abrus precatorius) seeds contain a chemical called abrin, which is highly toxic. A single well-masticated seed can kill an adult human (Kingsbury 1964).
In Canada the seeds of this plant are imported into the country on necklaces and perhaps on other decorative items. These attractive seeds are shiny, red, and black and about 5-8 mm long (Hoy and Catling 1981).
Nomenclature:
Scientific Name: Abrus precatorius L.
Vernacular name(s): precatory-pea
Scientific family name: Leguminosae
Vernacular family name: pea
Abrus precatorius L.
Geographic Information
Plant or plant parts used in or around the home.
Toxic parts:
Seeds.
Notes on Toxic plant chemicals:
Abrin is a lectin of Abrus precatorius and is a ribosome-inactivating protein. This chemical is regarded as one of the most deadly plant toxins known.
LD50: 0.56 micro gm/kg in mice (Stirpe and Barbieri 1986). Kingsbury (1964) states that a toxicity dose is about 0.00015% of a human subject's weight. A single well-masticated seed can kill an adult. Abrin causes large-scale disruption in lymphoid tissues, with apoptotic cell death. Apoptotic bodies have increased in the small intestine of experimental rats (Griffiths et al. 1987).
Toxic plant chemicals:
Abrin.
Animals/Human Poisoning:
Note: When an animal is listed without additional information, the literature (as of 1993) contained no detailed explanation.
