Plant toxicity

Plant toxicity is harm caused when people or animals are exposed to harmful compounds produced by plants, usually through eating, touching, or inhaling them.

Plant toxin: A substance produced by a plant that can harm organisms exposed to it. These compounds directly produce the harmful effects that define plant toxicity.
Atropa belladonna: A poisonous plant containing tropane alkaloids, including atropine and scopolamine. Its alkaloids can cause severe anticholinergic poisoning after ingestion.
Poison control center: A service that provides expert guidance on poisoning prevention, assessment, and treatment. Specialists help assess suspected exposure to toxic plants and recommend next steps.
Alkaloid: A nitrogen-containing natural compound, many of which have strong effects on animal physiology. Several notorious plant poisons, including atropine and coniine, are alkaloids.
Plant allergy: An immune response to plant material that causes symptoms such as sneezing, rash, or swelling. Allergy is immune-mediated, unlike poisoning caused by a toxin's direct harmful action.
Dose–response relationship: The relationship between the amount of a substance received and the magnitude or likelihood of its effects. The same plant compound can be harmless or dangerous at different doses.
Poison hemlock: A highly poisonous plant whose coniine and related alkaloids disrupt nervous-system function. Its toxins can cause paralysis and respiratory failure in people and livestock.
Toxicology: The study of harmful effects of chemicals and other agents on living organisms. Plant toxicity is one part of the broader study of harmful exposures.
Cardiac glycoside: A compound that inhibits the sodium–potassium pump and can alter heart contraction and rhythm. This toxin class explains the cardiac effects of plants such as oleander.
Contact dermatitis: Inflammation of the skin caused by irritants or allergens that contact it. Skin inflammation after plant contact may result from irritation or allergy rather than systemic toxicity.

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