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was not immune to the poison, collapsed and died within a few minutes. Chanakya entered the room at the moment she collapsed, and in order to save the child in the womb, he immediately cut open the dead queen's belly and took the baby out. He was just in time; a drop of poison had already reached the baby and touched his head, leaving a permanent blueish spot (a "bindu") on his forehead. Thus, the newborn was named "Bindusara".
171:. 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.
147:
Mithridatism is not effective against all types of poison. Immunity is generally only possible with biologically complex types which the immune system can respond to. Depending on the toxin, the practice can lead to the lethal accumulation of a poison in the body. Results depend on how each poison is
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kingdom, 281 BC–62 AD) until a male heir came of age. Mithridates was in competition with his brother for the throne and his mother began to favor his brother. Supposedly, during his youth, he began to suspect plots against him at his own mother's orders and was aware of her possible connection with
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However, 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. For example, heavy drinkers develop a tolerance to the effects of alcohol.
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used to feed the emperor with small doses of poison to build his immunity against possible poisoning attempts by his enemies. One day, Chandragupta, unaware that his food contained poison, shared his food with his pregnant wife, Queen
Durdhara, who was seven days away from delivery. The queen, who
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his father's death. He then began to notice pains in his stomach during his meals and suspected his mother had ordered small amounts of poison to be added to his food to slowly kill him off. With other assassination attempts, he fled into the wild.
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After
Mithridates' death, many Roman physicians claimed to possess and improve the formula. In keeping with most medical practices of his era, Mithridates' anti-poison routines included a religious component, supervised by the
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However, metabolic tolerance can also lead to accumulation of the less toxic metabolized compound which can slowly damage the liver. With alcohol this generally leads to conditions such as alcoholic fatty liver disease.
109:(320–298 BC), there was a practice of selecting beautiful girls and administering poison in small amounts until they grew up, thus making them insensitive to poison. These maidens were called
27:
115:(visha 'poison' + kanya 'maiden'). It was believed that making love with vishakanyas could result in the death of their partners, hence they were employed to kill enemies.
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While in the wild, it is said that he began ingesting non-lethal amounts of poisons and mixing many into a universal remedy to make him immune to all known poisons.
295:) invokes mithridatism as a metaphor for the benefit that serious poetry brings to the reader. The final section is a poetic rendition of the Mithridates legend.
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Tsatsakis, A. M., Vassilopoulou, L., Kovatsi, L., Tsitsimoikou, C., Karamanou, M., Leon, G., Liesivuori, J., Hayes, A. W., Spandidos, D. A. (2018).
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Metabolic tolerance is not effective on all types of non-biological poisons. Exposure to certain toxic substances, such as hydrofluoric acid and
500:"The dose response principle from philosophy to modern toxicology: The impact of ancient philosophy and medicine in modern toxicology science"
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work, the original name of this emperor was
Simhasena. A legend mentioned in the Jain texts tells the story of how Chandragupta's
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Mithridatism has been used as a plot device in fiction and on-screen; including the Indian fantasy series
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was the son of the first
Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya and his queen Durdhara. According to the
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Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and
Scorpion Bombs: Biological and Chemical Warfare in the Ancient World
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Indian epics talk about this practice as well. It has been said that, during the rule of the king
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processed by the body, i.e. on how the toxic compound is metabolized or passed out of the body.
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102:'s survival of a poisoning attempt was due to mithridatism, but this has not been proven.
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Mithradates the VI, reputed for intentionally consuming poison to build immunity.
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by gradually self-administering non-lethal amounts. The word is derived from
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The Poison King: the life and legend of
Mithradates, Rome's deadliest enemy
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450:. Translated by Ethel M. Coomaraswamy. Ceylon: H.C. Cottle. p. 40.
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The Dīpavaṃsa and Mahāvaṃsa and their historical development in Ceylon
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564:. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Apr 1995.
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The
Foreign Policy of Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus
289:'s "Terence, this is stupid stuff" (originally published in
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127:
353:
Dictionary of Greek and Roman
Biography and Mythology
163:, which can be metabolized by the liver. The enzyme
592:. New York State: Department of Health. Apr 2006.
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37:is the practice of protecting oneself against a
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167:converts the cyanide into the much less toxic
546:: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
418:. New York: Overlook Duckworth. p. 148.
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98:It has been suggested that Russian mystic
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471:History of classical Sanskrit literature
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609:. World Health Organization. 2009.
578:. US National Library of Medicine.
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431:The Dictionary of Modern Medicine
403:. Leiden: E.J. Brill. p. 43.
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469:Srinivasachariar, M. (1989).
388:. Princeton University Press.
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516:10.1016/j.toxrep.2018.10.001
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604:"Cyanide in Drinking-water"
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590:"The Facts About Cyanides"
356:. University of Michigan.
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192:The Count of Monte Cristo
444:Geiger, Wilhelm (1908).
414:Mayor, Adrienne (2003).
384:Mayor, Adrienne (2011).
245:Roxana, the manga/anime
19:Not to be confused with
562:"Alcohol and Tolerance"
350:Smith, William (1867).
251:The Apothecary Diaries,
637:Mithridates VI Eupator
305:Allergen immunotherapy
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627:Toxicology treatments
576:"Fatty Liver Disease"
399:McGing, B.C. (1986).
209:Rappaccini's Daughter
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429:Segen, J.C. (1992).
279:'s historical novel
95:who never left him.
475:Motilal Banarsidass
277:Michael Curtis Ford
205:Nathaniel Hawthorne
107:Chandragupta Maurya
504:Toxicology Reports
259:The Princess Bride
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331:Vaccination
269:The Borgias
197:Holly Black
169:thiocyanate
143:In practice
112:vishakanyas
74:Hellenistic
64:'s father,
632:Prevention
621:Categories
337:References
326:Mithridate
57:Background
456:559688590
165:rhodanese
120:Bindusara
21:Mithraism
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316:Hormesis
299:See also
136:Chanakya
100:Rasputin
90:Scythian
51:immunity
525:6226566
238:Curtain
161:cyanide
93:shamans
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243:manhwa
241:, the
70:Pontus
47:Pontus
39:poison
607:(PDF)
86:Agari
548:link
530:PMID
479:ISBN
452:OCLC
358:ISBN
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132:Guru
128:Jain
126:, a
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