LD50
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The name LD50 comes from toxicology, the study of poisons. It is an abbreviation for "Lethal Dose, 50%" or median lethal dose. It gives the amount of the substance required (usually per body weight) to kill 50% of the test population.
LD50 figures are frequently used as a general way to tell how poisonous a substance is. . The test was created by J.W. Trevan in 1927[1] but is now being phased out in favour of the Fixed Dose Procedure[2].
[change] Examples
- Oral LD50 of grain alcohol: 10.6 g/kg in young rats, 7.06 g/kg in aged rats. [3]
- Oral LD50 of nicotine: 50 mg/kg in rats. [4]
- Oral LD50 of Table Salt: 3000 mg/kg in rats [5]
- LD50 of Tetrahydrocannabinol (active ingredient found in Cannabis): 1270 mg/kg in rats.
- LD50 of batrachotoxin: estimated at 1 to 2 µg/kg in humans.
- LD50 of Polonium 210: estimated at 10 (inhaled) to 50 (ingested) nanograms in humans makes this one of the most toxic substances known. One gram in theory could poison 100 million people of which 50 million would die.
[change] References
- ↑ What is an LD50 and LC50
- ↑ LD50 test ban welcomed
- ↑ Alcohol Chemistry
- ↑ Safety (MSDS) data for nicotine
- ↑ Safety (MSDS) data for sodium chloride
