abrin
Sign in to saveAlso known as crab's eyes, Indian licorice seed, prayer bead, Aivoeiro, Arraccu-mitim, Carolina muida, Deadly crab's eye, Indian bead
Abrin is an extremely toxic toxalbumin found in the seeds of the rosary pea (or jequirity pea), Abrus precatorius. It has a median lethal dose of 0.7 micrograms per kilogram of body mass when given to mice intravenously (approximately 3.86 times more toxic than ricin, being 2.7 micrograms per kilogram). The median toxic dose for humans ranges from 10 to 1000 micrograms per kilogram when ingested and is 3.3 micrograms per kilogram when inhaled.
Key facts
- Nonhuman protein.Name
- Abrin-a
- Nonhuman protein.image
- Abrin-a.png
- Nonhuman protein.caption
- Abrin-a structure (). The A chain is shown in blue and the B chain in olive. A single peptide is cleaved into the two chains.
- Nonhuman protein.Organism
- Abrus precatorius
- Nonhuman protein.CAS_number
- 1393-62-0
- Nonhuman protein.UniProt
- P11140
via Wikipedia infobox
Research
463 papers- Abrin poisoning.Toxicological reviews · 2003
- Gaps in forensic toxicological analysis: The veiled abrin.Toxicon : official journal of the International Society on Toxinology · 2024
- Trends in the analysis of abrin poisoning for forensic purposes.Journal of forensic and legal medicine · 2023
- Ricin and Abrin in Biosecurity: Detection Technologies and Strategic Responses.Toxins · 2025
- Mapping Immunodominant Antibody Epitopes of Abrin.Antibodies (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020
via PubMed
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Abrin-a.png
Show 2 more facts
- EC enzyme number
- 3.2.2.22
- Commons category
- Abrin
Sources (4)
via Wikidata · CC0
~11 min read
Article
16 sectionsContents
- Occurrence
- Physical properties
- Biochemistry
- Use
- Toxicology
- Toxicity
- Toxicodynamics
- Toxicokinetics
- Signs and symptoms of abrin exposure
- Inhalation
- Ingestion
- Absorption
- Treatment
- See also
- References
- External links
Abrin is an extremely toxic toxalbumin found in the seeds of the rosary pea (or jequirity pea), Abrus precatorius. It has a median lethal dose of 0.7 micrograms per kilogram of body mass when given to mice intravenously (approximately 3.86 times more toxic than ricin, being 2.7 micrograms per kilogram). The median toxic dose for humans ranges from 10 to 1000 micrograms per kilogram when ingested and is 3.3 micrograms per kilogram when inhaled.
Abrin is a ribosome inhibiting protein like ricin, a toxin which can be found in the seeds of the castor oil plant, and pulchellin, a toxin which can be found in the seeds of Abrus pulchellus. Abrin is classed as a "select agent" under U.S. law.