Mithridatism - Becoming immune to poisons?!

While the stories of Vish kanyas  and Mithridates is most likely a blend of fact and fiction, it’s not beyond the realms of scientific possibility to become immune to certain poisons.

However, before you start micro-dosing on things like polonium, bear in mind that different toxins affect the body in different ways, and mithridatism will only work for some of these – so you have to choose your poison wisely.

Heavy metals, for instance, accumulate in the body, which means that taking multiple small doses eventually adds up to a big dose. Regularly ingesting tiny amounts of lead, mercury, cadmium, or other heavy elements will not, therefore, confer tolerance, but can severely damage the body’s vital organs.

Then there are toxins that are processed by the liver. In theory, a gradual increase in exposure to such substances can train the liver to produce more of the enzymes required to metabolize them, thus resulting in a degree of tolerance. 

The most obvious example here is alcohol, which is broken down by dehydrogenase enzymes. In some cases, it is possible to build up a metabolic tolerance against specific non-biological poisons. This involves conditioning the liver to produce more of the particular enzymes that metabolize these poisons. In heavy drinkers, the liver may become accustomed to churning out these catalysts, which is why it takes a lot more booze to start feeling drunk. However, while such a person can be said to be somewhat tolerant to the effects of alcohol, some of the metabolites created by this process are themselves toxic and can accumulate in the liver.

Acetaldehyde, for instance, is a by-product of alcohol metabolism and is a major contributor to fatty liver disease. Overall, then, booze probably isn’t the ideal material for the budding mithridatist.

Metabolic tolerance is not effective on all types of non-biological poisons. Exposure to certain toxic substances, such as hydrofluoric acid and heavy metals, is either lethal or has little to no effect. A minor exception is cyanide, which can be metabolized by the liver. The enzyme rhodanese converts the cyanide into the much less toxic thiocyanate(4) . This process allows humans to ingest small amounts of cyanide in food like apple seeds and survive small amounts of cyanide gas from fires and cigarettes. However, one cannot effectively condition the liver against cyanide, unlike alcohol. Relatively larger amounts of cyanide are still highly lethal because, while the body can produce more rhodanese, the process also requires large amounts of sulfur-containing substrates (5).

Far more suitable are those poisons that activate the immune system, with snake venom being the perfect mithridatic matter. Unlike mongeese, opossums, and honey badgers, humans aren’t born with any immunity to snake bites, which is why a bite from a cobra or a black mamba can be so deadly. However, when exposed to a sub-lethal dose of serpentine toxin, we can develop antibodies to protect us against future bites.

In fact, some of the oldest vaccinations ever created were against snake venom. Traditionally, these were manufactured by injecting horses with the relevant toxins before extracting the antibodies from their blood. However, there are numerous examples of humans directly exposing themselves to small doses of snake venom in order to produce their own antibodies.

The Pakokku Snake clan (1)  for instance, is a small tribe in Burma that is renowned for its so-called protection tattoos. Clan members capture dangerous cobras and vipers by hand before mixing the snakes’ venom with ink which they use to tattoo their entire bodies. Supposedly, this inoculates members against the wrath of these deadly animals, and the practice is credited with ensuring that none have ever died from a snake bite. But there is no scientific evidence to show that this works.

There is a person named  Tim Friede, director of herpetology at a company called Centivax, which is currently developing a universal anti-venom against the bite of every dangerous snake on the planet. The starting material for this elixir is Friede’s blood, which is loaded with antibodies as a result of 756 deliberate exposures to snake venom between 2001 and 2018. (6)

Immunizations included mambas, cobras, rattlesnakes, water cobras, taipans, as well as M. fulvius (coral snake), B. caeruleus (common krait), B. multicinctus (banded krait), N. scutatus (tiger snake), and P. textilis (eastern brown snake),” explain Friede and his colleagues in an as-yet unpublished study on the effectiveness of their vaccine.

Naturally, such extreme levels of tolerance are not reached overnight. Tim Friede has been bitten by venomous snakes more than 200 times. On nearly every occasion, he has positively encouraged it. All in the name of science and helping the humanity although he is not a real scientist!

Snake venom  is actually a type of saliva that can be lethal if it enters your bloodstream. It differs from poison that can kill you via touch, ingestion or injection. For venom to kill you, it must be injected in your soft tissue or bloodstream. This is exactly what a poisonous snake does. 

However, the situation is different when someone drinks snake venom. Since the venom is largely proteins and polypeptides, it gets broken into simpler substances inside our stomach. Our saliva, stomach acids and other enzymes work quickly to convert venom into digestible compounds. Some of it will be excreted, just like any other indigestible food item. This is what happens normally.

So, going by this logic, you will be safe if you drink snake venom. However, there can be several other scenarios and some risks associated with ingesting snake venom. (7) Like allergies, , small openings in the digestive track, drinking snake venom does not seem to be a good idea (7) to get immunity.

So not all poisons are the same and not all will give you immunity if you try to get immunized!Some can even kill you. 

Don't try them and if you are adamant don't do that without taking expert guidance.