March 31, 2008: Abrus

[Electrophile]

Originally Posted by SPUCK

I never get how 1/1000000 g of something can kill you! What is that, one atom per 100 million cells??

Assuming 100 trillion cells are in your body, one micrograms of albin is about 500 molecules per cell. And because it's an enzyme, it is not used up when it stops the ribosome. So once inside a cell, one molecule could kill that cell.