One of the more interesting facets of forensic work is toxicology. Toxicology happens in various states, there’s things that are venomous, poisonous, it can effect you to where you’re still alive, or even dead, there’s natural poisons, man-made poisons, drugs, involvement with neurochemistry, things can cause necrosis (cell death), etc.
Various Natural Toxins:
Venoms:
Nile monitors (bacteria in the mouth is mixed into the bloodstream, poisoning you)
Cobras, water mocassins, coral and rattlesnakes, etc.
(the strongest being Western Taipan, which can spit venom and also can bite up to 8 times in one attack, whose venom causes paralysis and is more easily spread throughout the body with hyaluronidase enzyme)
Brown recluse, black widow, wolf spiders, etc.
Scorpions
Bees and wasps
Poisons:
Lectin is found in many beans and is commonly found in kidney beans, packaged canned beans aren’t the problem, but if they’re raw or undercooked, you then have a problem.
Urshol, commonly known because of poison ivy, sticks to your skin and causes rashes that can spread.
Algaeic biotoxins also exist and are commonly overlooked, it isn’t an immediate threat unless it’s ingested by shellfish or regular fish. Which can store these toxins in their bodies after eating it and upon being eaten, are then poisonous.
Cyanogenic plants also exists, in reality the chemical is known as cyanogenic glycoside but I call them cyanogenic just as a common referential term. These plants are the common plants which contain cyanide, almonds, apple seeds, cassava, bamboo roots, along with a few stone fruits like peaches.
Furocoumarins are found in parsnip greens, celery roots, citrus and are released upon stress to the plant or fruit and can cause skin irritation under UV light because they are phototoxic.
Mycotoxins are molds found on cereals, grains, nuts, spices, anything really dried. Being a very stable toxin, they usually survive food processing, can cause cancer or even immune deficiency.
Solanine and chaconine are found in green tomatoes and potatoes, and are found in low amounts (just be cautious when eating these in excess).
Mushrooms can have an entire discussion around them, and eventually will. Mushrooms can contain many toxins, some of which cause bodily harm and some of which are psychedelic in nature. When I write more about mushrooms, this will be hyperlinked to lead to that page.
Individual plants:
Rhubarb greens contain oxalic acid which is very toxic and can cause kidney failure.
Castor beans contain ricin, a very strongly concentrated neurotoxin.
The analysis of naturally found toxins can be quite telling, toxins found in forensic can be restricted to a specific geographic location because you can only travel so far before you die, depending on the toxin used. Not just that, but stuff to think about would be if a person would naturally come into contact with one of these toxin containing vessels. If not, then who would have introduced the toxin, or toxin containing vessel (plant or animal) to the person? Bacterias are also found in specific locations, so take for example the nile monitor, they have their own specific biome of bacteria in their mouth so a specific person’s death COULD theoretically be linked to a specific monitor if one were to bite a person.
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