Bipyridines with positively charged nitrogen atoms were already known to be poisonous before the structure of<unk>  was elucidated. The herbicides paraquat and diquat are toxic not only to plants, but also to humans and livestock. Bipyridines with charged nitrogen atoms disrupt important redox reactions in organisms, 'stealing' one or two electrons and sometimes bypass the electrons into other, often undesirable, redox reactions. The terminal product can be peroxide or superoxide ions, the latter of which are harmful to the cells. It is likely that<unk>  works in the same way, although the process that leads from disturbed redox reactions to serious clinical kidney damage has not been properly resolved. In humans, a characteristic of poisoning by the nephrotoxin<unk>  is the long latency; the first symptoms usually do not appear until 2–3 days after ingestion and can in some cases take as long as 3 weeks. The first symptoms of<unk>  poisoning are similar to the common flu (nausea, vomiting, stomach pains, headaches, myalgia, etc.), these symptoms are followed by early stages of kidney failure (immense thirst, frequent urination, pain on and around the kidneys) and eventually decreased or nonexistent urine output and other symptoms of kidney failure occur. If left untreated death will follow. The of<unk>  in mice is 12 to 20 mg per kg body weight; this is the dose which leads to death within two weeks. From cases of<unk> -related mushroom poisoning in humans it seems that the lethal dose for humans is considerably lower.
Orellanine
Beta-Zearalenol
Tetramethyl bisphenol F
Diiodohydroxyquinoline
Metirosine
Psymberin
Methylenedioxypyrovalerone
Anisodamine