Editing Toxin (section)

{{Short description|Naturally occurring organic poison}}
{{about|naturally occurring organic poisons|toxic substances that can be artificial or natural|Toxicant}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
[[File:Amanita-muscaria-mushroom20151014-1336-ex6cst.jpg|thumb|336x336px|The ''[[Amanita muscaria]]'' mushroom, an iconic toxic mushroom.]]

A '''toxin''' is a [[naturally occurring]] [[poison]]<ref>{{OEtymD|toxin}}</ref> produced by [[Metabolism|metabolic activities]] of [[Life|living]] [[Cell (biology)|cell]]s or [[organism]]s.<ref name="urltoxin – Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary">{{cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toxin |title=toxin – Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary |access-date=13 December 2008}}</ref> They occur especially as [[Protein|proteins]], often [[Conjugated protein|conjugated]].<ref>{{DorlandsDict|eight/000109718|toxin}}</ref> The term was first used by [[organic chemist]] [[Ludwig Brieger]] (1849–1919),<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oWhqhK1cE-gC&pg=PA6|title=Endotoxin in Health and Disease|first=Helmut|last=Brade|year=1999|publisher=CRC Press|oclc=41299257|isbn=9780824719449}}</ref> derived from ''[[toxic]]''.

Toxins can be [[small molecule]]s, [[peptide]]s, or [[protein]]s that are capable of causing disease on contact with or absorption by [[Biological tissue|body tissues]] interacting with biological [[macromolecule]]s such as [[enzyme]]s or [[Receptor (biochemistry)|cellular receptors]]. They vary greatly in their [[toxicity]], ranging from usually minor (such as a [[bee]] [[Stinger|sting]]) to potentially fatal even at extremely low doses (such as [[botulinum toxin]]).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780128132135/illustrated-toxicology|title=Illustrated Toxicology with Study Questions|first=PK|last=Gupta|year=2018|publisher=Elsevier Inc.|isbn=978-0-12-813213-5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-01 |title=Diagnosis and Treatment {{!}} Botulism |url=https://www.cdc.gov/botulism/testing-treatment.html |access-date=2022-04-12 |website=CDC |language=en-us |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412162744/https://www.cdc.gov/botulism/testing-treatment.html |archive-date= 2022-04-12 }}</ref>