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Re: Would you drink it?
Old 05-25-2010, 03:18 PM   #17
KillerGremlin
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Default Re: Would you drink it?

Quote:
Originally Posted by manasecret View Post
Interesting question: If you ingest venom, is it still "venomous", or is it now "poisonous" since it is not injected by the animal?

I'm no chemist, but I believe venom is essentially a poison. It's just usually injected by an animal, so it's venomous, not poisonous.
I'm not a bio major.....My understanding is that venom is a neurotoxin and when injected into your bloodstream it travels through your blood (it probably crosses the blood-brain barrier: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood-brain_barrier) and causes neurological issues which effect your respiratory system, etc.

I assume just digesting something reduces the chance of the neurotoxin from crossing the blood-brain barrier. And my understanding is the alcohol breaks down the proteins that make the neurotoxin harmful to humans thereby eliminating any of the side effects.

Drink up and enjoy.
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