Aluminium Phosphide (AlP)
Definition
Solid grain-fumigant rodenticide sold as Celphos, Quickphos, Sulfas tablets. On contact with moisture or stomach acid, releases phosphine (PH3) gas, which blocks cytochrome c oxidase and causes refractory cardiogenic shock. No effective antidote.
- Brand names
- Celphos, Quickphos, Sulfas
- Gas released
- Phosphine (PH3)
- Cellular mechanism
- Blocks cytochrome c oxidase
- Clinical outcome
- Refractory cardiogenic shock
Common questions
How does blocking cytochrome c oxidase lead to cardiogenic shock?+
Cytochrome c oxidase is essential to mitochondrial energy production, and blocking it starves cells of usable energy, hitting the heart muscle especially hard because of its constant high energy demand, which drives the shock that is typically the direct cause of death.
Why is this poison particularly hard to manage clinically compared with organophosphates?+
Unlike organophosphate poisoning, which has atropine and pralidoxime as specific antidotes, aluminium phosphide poisoning has no equivalent reversal agent, so treatment is limited to intensive supportive care against a rapidly progressing shock state.
Related terms
- AChE / BChE
- Acetylcholinesterase (RBC membrane bound, true cholinesterase) and butyrylcholinesterase (plasma, pseudo-cholinesterase). Both depressed in OP and carbamate exposure; plasma BChE falls first and...
- Carbamate
- Carbamic-acid ester insecticides (carbaryl, carbofuran, propoxur, aldicarb). Reversibly inhibit acetylcholinesterase by carbamylating the active-site serine; spontaneous decarbamylation makes oximes unnecessary and sometimes...
- Ellman Method
- Standard spectrophotometric cholinesterase assay. Acetylthiocholine substrate plus 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) yields a yellow 5-thio-2-nitrobenzoate anion read at 412 nm. The rate of...
- Organochlorine (OC)
- Chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides (DDT, BHC/lindane, endosulfan, dicofol, aldrin, dieldrin). Highly lipophilic, neurotoxic via voltage-gated sodium channel disruption, and persistent in fat and...
- Organophosphate (OP)
- A class of insecticides (monocrotophos, chlorpyrifos, methyl parathion, dichlorvos, phorate) that inhibit acetylcholinesterase, producing the cholinergic toxidrome. The dominant suicidal poison in...
- Pyrethroid
- Synthetic analogues of natural pyrethrins (deltamethrin, cypermethrin, permethrin, fenvalerate). Act on voltage-gated sodium channels like OC but break down quickly in mammals,...
- QuEChERS
- Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe sample-prep protocol for pesticide residues. Acetonitrile extraction, MgSO4 + NaCl partition, dispersive SPE clean-up with...