1. Botulinum toxin. Scientists differ about the relative toxicities of substances, but they seem to agree that botulinum toxin, produced by anaerobic bacteria, is the most toxic substance known. Its LD50 is tiny – at most 1 nanogram per kilogram can kill a human.
Pål Stenmark regards botulinum toxin – the world's most dangerous poison – as a set of building blocks he can redesign and give new functions.
Consider tetrodotoxin (TTX), a poison found in puffer fish and blue-ringed octopuses that leaves you paralysed as your body goes through some agonising reactions.
It's hard to rank the lethality of toxins, but experts agree that botulinum – several orders of magnitude deadlier than sarin – is the gold standard. Your nervous system fails and you die in extreme pain.
Paraquat is highly toxic to humans; one small accidental sip can be fatal and there is no antidote.
The acute toxicity of arsenic has been recognized since antiquity. Known as both the “king of poisons” and the “poison of kings,” the element's infamy grew during the Middle Ages as an almost untraceable means of murder.
It is called the “silent killer” because it is colorless, odorless, tasteless and non- irritating. If the early signs of CO poisoning are ignored, a person may lose consciousness and be unable to escape the danger. More people die from carbon monoxide exposure than any other kind of poisoning.
Polonium-210 is a metal found in uranium ore, which often shows up as a byproduct of nuclear reactors. It can be processed into a tasteless, odorless compound that dissolves in water, which makes it a good candidate as far as undetectable poisons go.
Thallium is tasteless and odorless and has been used by murderers as a difficult to detect poison.
Strychnine is a white, odorless, bitter crystalline powder that can be taken by mouth, inhaled (breathed in), or mixed in a solution and given intravenously (injected directly into a vein). Strychnine is a strong poison; only a small amount is needed to produce severe effects in people.
Aconite, known as the Queen of Poisons, is one of the most deadly poisons but this was the first case in England since 1882, the Press Association reported.
Mithridatism is the practice of protecting oneself against a poison by gradually self-administering non-lethal amounts. The word is derived from Mithridates VI, the King of Pontus, who so feared being poisoned that he regularly ingested small doses, aiming to develop immunity.
It's called aconitine, and it's a natural defense mechanism made by the aconite plant, also called monkshood for the shape of its flowers. For its effects, aconite is called wolfsbane, dogsbane and even, disturbingly enough, wifesbane.
Blue death is extremely poisonous and can be fatal to humans.
He has been called the greatest ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus. He cultivated an immunity to poisons by regularly ingesting sub-lethal doses; this practice, now called mithridatism, is named after him. After his death, he became known as Mithridates the Great.
Poison was discovered in ancient times, and was used by ancient tribes and civilizations as a hunting tool to quicken and ensure the death of their prey or enemies. This use of poison grew more advanced, and many of these ancient peoples began forging weapons designed specifically for poison enhancement.
Long-term tolerance is reached after at least three years of venom immunotherapy.
The plant, Aconitum napellus, or Wolfsbane, is the common known cure or weapon against the fantastical creatures, known as werewolves. Though this isn't just a mythical plant whose only purpose is to fight those creatures of the night, it also contains many other dark and deadly secrets.
When Love realizes her husband is in love with Marienne, she poisons the dinner she made for Joe with wolfsbane.
The estimated lethal dose is 2 mg of aconitine, 5 ml of aconite tincture and 1 g of the raw aconite plant (Chan, 2012; Qin et al., 2012). A 2mg dose of aconitine can cause death within 4 hours. Luckily cases of fatal monkshood poisoning are rare as it tastes foul and bitter and would quickly be spat out.
Ricin is much more poisonous than potassium cyanide. Doses of ricin the size of a matchhead are sufficient to kill an adult human being. Ricin is made from castor beans, the fruit of the castor-oil plant (Ricinus communis), which grows in the tropics and subtropics all over the world.
Hydrogen sulfide (also known as H2S, sewer gas, swamp gas, stink damp, and sour damp) is a colorless gas known for its pungent "rotten egg" odor at low concentrations. It is extremely flammable and highly toxic. Hydrogen sulfide also occurs naturally in sewers, manure pits, well water, oil and gas wells, and volcanoes.
Other agents that may have similar features in toxicity include the following : Arsine. Inert gases (simple asphyxiants) Metformin.