J Med Allied Sci 2017; 7 (2): 82-86 www.jmas.in Print ISSN: 2231 1696 Online ISSN: 2231 170X Journal of Medical & Allied Sciences 82 Review Medical management of ricin poisoning Rashmi Aggarwal 1 , Hemant Aggarwal 2 , Pradeep Kumar Chugh 3 1 Department of Thyroid and Endocrine Research, Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Defence Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INAMS), Brig. S. K. Mazumdar Road, Delhi- 110054, India. 2 Badshah Khan Hospital, New Industrial Township, Faridabad-121001, Haryana, India. 3 Department of Cardiology, Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INAMS), Brig. S. K. Mazumdar Road, Delhi-110054, India. Article history: Abstract Received 23 February 2017 Revised 31 May 2017 Accepted 05 June 2017 Early online 31 July 2017 Print 31 July 2017 Ricin is a biological toxin which can be extracted from the castor bean plant. The scientific name of this plant is Ricinus communis. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has categorized ricin to be a category B agent. Exposure to ricin can occur by oral ingestion, inhala- tion or parenteral administration. The severity of symptoms of ricin tox- icity is dependent on the route of exposure and the dose of ricin. Diag- nosis is based on epidemiological and clinical parameters. Currently no antidote, vaccine or specific therapy is available for ricin poisoning. Treatment of ricin toxicity is largely symptomatic and supportive in na- ture. The treatment should be prompt and meticulous to limit mortality. Corresponding author Rashmi Aggarwal Department of Thyroid and Endo- crine Research, Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Defence Insti- tute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INAMS), Brig. S. K. Mazumdar Road, Delhi-110054, India. Phone: +91-11- 23905239 Email: drarashmi@yahoo.co.in Key words: Biological toxin, Castor beans, Ricin poisoning DOI: 10.5455/jmas.259532 © 2017 Deccan College of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved. icin is a potentially lethal biological toxin which can be extracted from the beans of castor plant (Ricinus communis). After cas- tor oil is extracted from the castor beans, the toxin ricin remains in the residual mesh, from which it can be easily extracted and used for notorious purposes. Owing to the ease of availability of the native plant and the hassle free extraction of the ricin toxin from it, it has made ricin a potent biologi- cal toxin. Ricin has been categorized as a category B bio-terror agent by the Centre for Disease Con- trol and Prevention (CDC) 1 . Ricinus communis is the name given by the fa- mous naturalist Dr. Carolus Linnaeus. Ricin is a Latin word which actually means tick and Linnaeus named it so because castor bean looked like a tick, Communis means common in Latin. Castor plants were commonly naturalized in many parts of the world. Castor oil is a strong and effective cathartic or laxative. It is also used topically to treat warts or corns. Castor oil is also used in oils, paints, var- nishes and industrial machines. During both the world wars – first and second this lubricating oil was used in aircrafts but during the Second World War when there was an acute shortage of this lu- bricating oil, the US government subsidized the cultivation of castor beans in San Joaquin valley of California. The ricin toxin which remains in the cas- tor meal after the oil has been extracted can be easily removed by a simple procedure. Castor oil itself never contains any ricin. During the prepara- tion of castor oil, the ricin-containing resin portion of the plant is separated from the non-ricin- containing oil portion. Ricin is also thought to be activated during oil extraction especially if extrac- tion is done under heated conditions. Ricin can be R