30 kg per kg bodyweight! LD50 for sucrose seems whack

[naita]

In the wikipedia article on LD50, the example for sucrose seems absurd. How can you administer 30 kg of sucrose per kg bodyweight? Drop a bag on the rat?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LD50#Examples

[Giles]

29,700,000,000 ng = 29.7 g, so the lethal dose is about 1/34 of the body mass: you'd have a full stomach with that amount inside you, but I suppose it could be done.

[Colophon]

I prefer the "drop a bag on the rat" explanation, myself. Say a rat weighs about 400g - a 30lb sack of sugar ought to the job nicely.

[chorpler]

Originally Posted by naita

In the wikipedia article on LD50, the example for sucrose seems absurd. How can you administer 30 kg of sucrose per kg bodyweight? Drop a bag on the rat?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LD50#Examples

I think your math is off by a factor of 1000 -- as Giles points out, 29,700,000,000 ng/kg is about 30 grams per kilogram.

My question is, what would actually happen if you consumed a lethally huge dose of sugar? We know how lethal doses of things like water and salt kill you ... what does sugar do at a lethal dose?

[chorpler]

Originally Posted by naita

In the wikipedia article on LD50, the example for sucrose seems absurd. How can you administer 30 kg of sucrose per kg bodyweight? Drop a bag on the rat?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LD50#Examples

I think your math is off by a factor of 1000 -- as Giles points out, 29,700,000,000 ng is about 30 [i]grams[/b] per kilogram.

My question is, what would actually happen if you consumed a lethally huge dose of sugar? We know how lethal doses of things like water and salt kill you ... what does sugar do at a lethal dose?

ETA: OK, my second question is, have they actually determined the LD50 of sucrose experimentally, or is this just a guess?

[awldune]

So if you weigh 150lbs you would have to eat 4.5lbs of pure sugar to have a 50% chance of dying.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperglycemia

Acute hyperglycemia involving glucose levels that are extremely high is a medical emergency and can rapidly produce serious complications (such as fluid loss through osmotic diuresis).

I think the basic idea is that your kidneys go crazy and you become very dehydrated. I doubt it is entirely healthy for the kidneys, either.

[naita]

Of course I'm wrong by a factor of 1000. That'll teach me to taunt the people who think having kilograms as the base unit is bad. My brain was so stuck in the "nano" means a factor of 10^9 mode it took me a while to accept your replies were right.

[naita]

Originally Posted by chorpler

ETA: OK, my second question is, have they actually determined the LD50 of sucrose experimentally, or is this just a guess?

The table mentions animal (rat) and administration route (oral), so it's probably determined experimentally.

Now I have to worry about accidentally eating two kilogram bags of sugar.

[purplehorseshoe]

*crunch* *munch* *chew*


*gulp*


Oops.

[lazybratsche]

Originally Posted by awldune

So if you weigh 150lbs you would have to eat 4.5lbs of pure sugar to have a 50% chance of dying.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperglycemia



I think the basic idea is that your kidneys go crazy and you become very dehydrated. I doubt it is entirely healthy for the kidneys, either.

4.5 lbs of sugar would probably just kill you by sucking all of the water out of the rest of your body by osmosis.

[TriPolar]

You won't die if you drink several gallons of diet soda at the same time to balance things out.

[Random Design]

Originally Posted by chorpler

I think your math is off by a factor of 1000 -- as Giles points out, 29,700,000,000 ng is about 30 [i]grams[/b] per kilogram.

My question is, what would actually happen if you consumed a lethally huge dose of sugar? We know how lethal doses of things like water and salt kill you ... what does sugar do at a lethal dose?

ETA: OK, my second question is, have they actually determined the LD50 of sucrose experimentally, or is this just a guess?

Isn't the term "lethal dose" self-explanatory?

[aruvqan]

Originally Posted by Random Design

Isn't the term "lethal dose" self-explanatory?

i still have the mental image of dropping a whole bag of sugar on the poor little rattie ...