Arsenic belongs to semi-metals and has not only chemical and medical, but also historical value — with its help in the last centuries poisoned objectionable people. However this element has for the person and medicinal properties. What is arsenic — medicine or a poison? We will consider the answer to this question in this article.
Description and characteristic
Arsenic is one of the most ancient elements known to the modern person. Ancient Greeks and Romans first of all estimated its poisoning qualities. Considering a possibility of free release of this substance from chemical compounds, it is difficult to give superiority in its receiving to someone from scientists, as well as it is impossible to establish time frames of this event. In the adult's organism the microcell contains in scanty quantity — about 15 mg.
Generally it is distributed between kidneys and a liver and also in a small dose is in a small intestine. It is soaked up by means of work of digestive tract. This substance depending on a dosage can be as poisoning, not toxic. Natural, safe in small concentration, the element is inclined to replacement by toxic As5 + and As3. A number removes an organism, but the most part is soaked up in fabrics and cages.
Whether you know? The highest level of arsenic in the environment is found in reservoirs of China, India, Bangladesh and Mexico.
Functions and role in an organism
It is worth understanding at once that the described substance is the strongest poison, and its medicinal properties are shown only at the minimum dosage. Therefore it is necessary to use medicines with arsenic content strictly according to medical indications and instructions for application.
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Functions of arsenic in an organism the following:
- promotes a kroveobrazovaniye;
- slows down oxidizing processes;
- helps to acquire phosphorus and nitrogen;
- accelerates fermentation;
- interacts with proteins (cysteine, lipoic acid);
- replaces phosphate.
What contains arsenic: products sources
The microcell gets to an organism with various used liquids including with alcoholic beverages. Drinking water, mineral water, grape juice and wine are natural "conductors" of arsenic in tissue of the person. Also rather high content of this substance in sea products (mollusks, cod-liver oil and some species of fat fishes), drugs, agricultural chemicals (herbicides, pesticides) which can be besieged in products of agro-industrial complex.
Whether you know? In rice from where it was a sort, the high level of content of arsenic. This information is known long ago, but is not advertized by the relevant international organizations.
In any given quantity the element contains practically in all food — fruit, vegetables, grain. An exception is the refined sugar. As scientists note, the element was in a food chain since ancient times. This substance gradually increased the presence at food. Now, in connection with technogenic human activity, concentration of this microcell in food can lead to catastrophic consequences.
Daily requirement and norms
As about 15 mg were already told above, arsenic in a human body. A part it (up to 30-40%) is removed with urine and stool. The rest accumulates in internals. In spite of the fact that this microcell in high concentrations is pernicious for an organism, it nevertheless is necessary for a normal metabolism.
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Usual requirement of an organism — from 50 to 100 micrograms. Such dosage is quite enough for normal adjustment of exchange of phosphorus, along with activity of vitamin D which monitors calcium-phosphorus exchange.
Important! Some types of an allergy can arise because of a lack of arsenic of a human body.
What the surplus of an element is dangerous by
The overdose comes at reception of a dose from 5 mg a day, and at increase in quantity of the accepted microcell up to 50 mg the lethal outcome is quite possible. Therefore it is worth accepting it extremely accurately, carefully counting a dosage. If the person nevertheless got poisoned with this element, then it is possible to determine it by the following signs:
- exacerbation of gastritis;
- cold without cold symptoms, dryness in a throat;
- various rashes on skin;
- bronchitis symptoms in the form of cough;
- the raised slezootdeleniye, otekaniye a century;
- change of skin color, fragility and hair loss;
- variability of mood, sharp differences and frequent depressions;
- dysfunction of a liver;
- disappearance of perception of taste and smell.
Experts most of all pay attention to drink — low-quality liquids including alcoholic, can quite lead to undesirable processes. The polluted products can become the reason of excess of day norm of reception of a dangerous microcell too.
Important! Smokers also are in a risk zone — this addiction increases the probability of poisoning not only nicotine with which cigarettes also are associated, but also arsenic.
Interaction with other substances
Arsenic is applied also in agriculture where it is parts of insecticides that at once puts it in a row chemicals which, to put it mildly, not really suit the person. So it is necessary to know what medicines are capable to reduce the poisoning effect of intake of arsenic to a minimum. As a panacea from poisoning it is worth using sulphonate of dimercaptopropyl alcohol or Unitiol. Besides, antagonists of arsenic — medicines with sulfur, zinc, selenium, phosphorus with the additional use of vitamin complexes, with the content of vitamins A, With, E in a combination with amino acids are used. Arsenic nevertheless is more harmful, than is useful therefore its application as in dosage forms, and reception with food, has to be controlled strictly. Only this way it is possible to avoid excess accumulation of this ambiguous microcell in tissues of a human body.