Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.
Prog Mol Biol Transl Sci. 2012;112:373-415. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-415813-9.00014-3.
Toxins are produced by numerous microorganisms and invertebrates as well as by higher plants and animals. Venoms are produced by many groups of animals, from coelenterates to vertebrates. While toxins and venoms are the primary toxicological concern in natural ecosystems, they are frequently of importance in agroecosystems and in military deployments. They belong to a very large number of chemical classes and consequently are usually classified according to the groups of organisms producing them, for example, mycotoxins, algal toxins, and insect venoms. Plant toxins are representative of a larger group of phytochemicals known as secondary plant chemicals or plant allelochemicals. They may be acutely toxic, have chronic toxicity, or may be toxic at one dose but therapeutic at a lower dose. Some drugs of abuse are plant toxins abuse. A representative selection of the more important members of each category is provided.
毒素由许多微生物和无脊椎动物以及高等植物和动物产生。毒液由许多动物群产生，从腔肠动物到脊椎动物。虽然毒素和毒液是自然生态系统中主要的毒理学关注点，但它们在农业生态系统和军事部署中经常很重要。它们属于非常多的化学类别，因此通常根据产生它们的生物体群体进行分类，例如真菌毒素、藻类毒素和昆虫毒液。植物毒素是被称为次生植物化学物质或植物化感物质的更大类植物化学物质的代表。它们可能具有急性毒性、慢性毒性，或者在一种剂量下有毒，但在较低剂量下具有治疗作用。一些滥用药物是植物毒素滥用。每种类别的更重要成员的代表性选择提供。
