International Medico-Legal Reporter Journal February 2021 ISSN: 2347 - 3525 Trends of Poisons and its Toxicity Devarakonda Vishal Vardhan21 Yasmine valentina V22 Mohana Lakshmi P23 ABSTRACT The review focuses on suicidal and accidental poisoning in India, which estimates and describes the prevalence and effects of motivations behind, and risk factors for consumption of insecticides, hair dyes, rat poison and other poisons. In this, different poisons have been studied along with their fatal doses and harmful effects. According to reports published by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) India, every year, the number of suicides are continuously increasing, The means adopted for committing suicide are classified by over alcoholism, by drowning, by self/fire immolation, by fire arms, by hanging, by consuming poisons (household, plant, animal, synthetic poisons), by self- infliction of injury, by overdose of sleeping pills, by touching electric wires, by coming under running trains and by other means. Keywords: Poison, Insecticides, pesticides, rat-poison, consumption, peer-reviewed, fatal dosages and NCRB INTRODUCTION Poison is a substance that is capable of causing the illness or death of a living organism when introduced or absorbed. Poisoning is the one of the common means of suicidal and accidental deaths. The most common means of taking poisons are by ingestion, injection and inhalation. Commonly used poisons are household poisons, plant, animal, synthetic poisons, poisonous gases and etc due to easily available and cheap of cost. It is usually ingested to suicide, homicide, and to threaten family members. The causes for suicides are bankruptcy, marriage related issues, extra marital affairs, divorce, failure in examination, death of dear person, drug abuse/addiction, poverty, unemployment, love affairs etc. The review focuses on different types of poisons, its toxicity, fatal doses, clinical symptoms and death factors that are caused. Super vasmol-33 is an emulsion Based hair dye, it is cheap and easily available and it is the major cause for suicidal and accidental poisoning. The composition of super vasmol-33 is paraphenylenediamine (PPD), resorcinol, ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA), 21 B.Sc. (Hons) Forensic Science, School of Sciences, Jain university, Bangalore 22 B.Sc. (Hons) Forensic Science, School of Sciences, Jain university, Bangalore 23 B.Sc. (Hons) Forensic Science, School of Sciences, Jain university, Bangalore 212 Legal Desire Media & Insights www.legaldesire.com/forensics International Medico-Legal Reporter Journal February 2021 ISSN: 2347 - 3525 propylene glycol, liquid paraffin, cetostearyl alcohol, sodium louryl sulphate liquid, herbal extracts, preservatives, almond protein and perfume. The active ingredient of vasmol-33 is paraphenylenediamine which is a derivative of aniline which is a white solid and it darkens due to oxidation. PPD is more toxic when consumed orally and low toxic by dermal route. Even though the label of super vasmol-33 is showing that 4% of PPD, but the exact concentration has not been mentioned. The fatal dose for PPD is 0.3%-7% when consumed orally and fatal period is within 24 hours of consumption. It has high mortality rate of 47%. The large amount of ingestion produces a wide range of acute health problems such as pain in throat, cough, dyspnoea, oedema of tongue, pharynx and neck. It also shows the chronic symptoms such as severe cervico-facial inflammatory oedema, rhabdomyolysis, intravascular haemolysis, renal failure, hepatic injury, metabolic acidosis, hypo calcemia, seizure and death. Death occurs due to respiratory obstruction, angioneurotic oedema of larynx, oedema of floor of the mouth and base of tongue and renal failure. Super vasmol-33 contains various combinations of substances that are potentially dangerous toxins which can result in multiorgan dysfunction and death. Rat poison is used to kill rats, mice and other rodent pests, but commonly used for suicides due to easy availability and low cost. Rat poison contains mixture of anticoagulant, metal phosphide and some various forms of vitamin-D. Red squill is the first rodenticide used for many years, but due to its low effectivity it is not used now-a-days. zinc phosphide, bromethalin, cholecalciferol, strychnine are commonly used rodenticides. Zinc phosphide is a crystalline, dark grey powder and also used as insecticide which is registered as highly potent rodenticide in 1947. Ingestion of zinc phosphide reacts with moisture such as gastric fluid and releases phosphine gas, which is very toxic and it leads to death. Clinical symptom includes headache, dizziness, vomiting and difficulty in breathing. Fatal dosage is 10mg-20mg and the fatal period is 24 hrs -72hrs and the mortality rate is 37%-100%. when intake of rodenticide is in fatal dosage can lead to seizure, respiratory distress, heart attack, internal bleeding, liver failure, shock, coma and death. Phenyl is a fluid antiseptic agent, strong deodorant and caustic germicide, that destroys pathogenic organisms. It is an emulsion of light creosote oil and soap water. Since it is easily available household reagent it is a vital cause for suicidal and accidental poisoning. Ingestion of phenyl causes extensive local corrosions, pain, nausea, vomiting, sweating, diarrhea, respiratory tract irritation, burning pain from mouth to stomach, and pneumonia. The fatal dosage is 3-30grams and fatal period is 3-4hrs. Post-ingestion of phenyl in fatal dosage produces systemic manifestations within 5-30 mins that causes lethargy or coma, convulsions, hypotension, tachycardia or bradycardia, dysrhythmias, seizure, acidosis, hemolysis, 213 Legal Desire Media & Insights www.legaldesire.com/forensics International Medico-Legal Reporter Journal February 2021 ISSN: 2347 - 3525 methemoglobinemia, shock and death. Good night liquid is a mosquito repellent, which is generally used to control mosquitoes in household. It contains prallethrin which is extracted from flower chrysanthemum cinerarilifolium and it is a pyrethroid insecticide. Prallethrin poison acts on sodium channels in the heart which can lead to cardiac conduction. All-out liquid contains 1.6% w/w prallethrin and each bottle contains 35%ml. Different types of mosquito repellent includes good night, all- out, mortein, etc. The fatal dosage is 500mg and the fatal period is 4-48hrs. In case of consumption the minor problems include sore throat, nausea, dizziness, headache, fatigue, vomiting and abdominal pain within minutes. Systemic manifestations such as mouth ulceration, increase secretions or dysphagia, chest tightness, blurred vision, stomach ulcer, allergic reactions and cause high liver toxicity which can lead to coma and death. Harpic is a toilet cleaning agent used to kill germs which is also used to shine surface, dirt removal and pleasant fragrance. Harpic contains 10% of hydrochloric acid as an active ingredient along with butyl oleylamine and other aqueous solutions. Mostly abused acid is hydrochloric acid which is present in higher percentage (more than 50%) in sanitary cleaning agents. When hydrochloric acid is consumed orally it effects body tissues and transforms haemoglobin into haematin and tissue proteins into acid proteins resulting in coagulation necrosis. These cleaning agents are commonly used in India and Taiwan. Consumption of harpic leads to gastric stenosis and oesophageal stenosis, it affects the gastro intestinal tract. The fatal dosage is 10-50ml. The systemic complications include nausea, vomiting, burning sensation and pain in throat and mouth, retro sternal pain and epigastric pain, hypersalivation, difficulty in swallowing, ulcerations and whitish plaques in pharynx, palate and oral cavity. The death may be due to toxicity of the internal body that can leads to multiorgan disfunction and death. Organophosphorous (OP) insecticide is a man-made poison that used to kill insects and mammals. OP is widely used insecticide for agriculture, home gardens, and veterinary practice. Commonly types organophosphorous compounds are diazinon, diethomate(N=33), chloropyrifos(N=15), acetamide(N=1), dicofal(N=1) etc. OP is colourless-brown at room temperature, some are odourless, while other have fruit like smell. Insecticides are commonly consumed orally than intramuscular route. The fatal dose is 175mg by oral administration and 80mg by intra muscular route. Consumption of insecticides can lead to clinical manifestations like bradycardia, hypotension, tachycardia, increases salivation, abdominal pain, excessive sweating, nausea, vomiting, urinary and faecal incontinence. OP affects central nervous system (CNS) that includes anxiety, restlessness, convulsions, miosis, insomnia, coma and cardio 214 Legal Desire Media & Insights www.legaldesire.com/forensics International Medico-Legal Reporter Journal February 2021 ISSN: 2347 - 3525 vascular failure. Death occurs due to cardiovascular and respiratory failure. Insecticides are commonly used by farmers for cultivation purpose hence they are major victims for suicidal and accidental insecticide poisoning. Inert gases are not toxic and they do not explode or burn but, they can cause injury and death when inhaled in high concentrations. Inhalation of inert gases such as helium, neon, argon are major causes for suicidal and accidental poisoning. Inhalation of inert gases in large concentration can lead to suffocation, since it displaces the oxygen by which vapour possess mild anaesthetic effects. The fatal dose is 75% of its normal percentage.