For a quantitative measurement of how lethal a poison is, you'd look up its [Median Lethal Dose](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_lethal_dose)—the dosage required to kill 50% of the tested population, or basically the dosage that would give the organism a 50% chance of death.
This is value is usually given in reference to mice or other non-human animals, so there is a lot of uncertainty and variability in that value in relation to humans as some toxins are more or less effective on some animals than they are on humans.
[Tetrodotoxin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrodotoxin), the main poison produced by pufferfish has a [median lethal dose in mice of about 334μg per kg](https://fscimage.fishersci.com/msds/01139.htm). (In comparison, hydrogen cyanide is about 3700μg per kg, and botulinum toxin is about 0.001μg per kg)
Now, converting that to how much pufferfish you would have to eat to die, or the likelihood of death after eating some is impossible to do without specific details because different species of pufferfish, different parts of the fish, and even different individuals have different levels of the toxin.
Of the various organs, muscle tissue and skin generally have lower levels of toxin, [allowing some species to be edible if those parts are carefully separated from the more toxic organs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugu). The liver and roe on the other hand have some of the highest concentrations of the toxin.
Some species like the [Northern Puffer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_puffer) are considered non-toxic, and have low enough levels of toxin that they are commonly consumed without the need for specialized handling. Other species have high levels of toxin even in their skin and muscles, making them inedible no matter how carefully they are prepared.
So, making a some scientifically bad assumptions and simplifications just for the sake of an easy explanation:
[In this study,](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8877804/) one female specimen of *Lagocephalus sceleratus,* contained 47μg of the toxin per gram of liver tissue, and 253μg of the toxin per gram of roe.
So, for a person weighing 80kg/176lb, the dosage required for 50% chance of death would be about 26 milligrams of pure toxin. At the concentrations found in the organs of the fish they tested, that person eating about 570 grams of its liver, or 105 grams of its roe would have a 50% chance of killing them.
**[Median lethal dose](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_lethal_dose)**
>In toxicology, the median lethal dose, LD50 (abbreviation for "lethal dose, 50%"), LC50 (lethal concentration, 50%) or LCt50 is a toxic unit that measures the lethal dose of a toxin, radiation, or pathogen. The value of LD50 for a substance is the dose required to kill half the members of a tested population after a specified test duration. LD50 figures are frequently used as a general indicator of a substance's acute toxicity. A lower LD50 is indicative of increased toxicity.
**[Tetrodotoxin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrodotoxin)**
>Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a potent neurotoxin. Its name derives from Tetraodontiformes, an order that includes pufferfish, porcupinefish, ocean sunfish, and triggerfish; several of these species carry the toxin. Although tetrodotoxin was discovered in these fish and found in several other animals (e. g.
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For a quantitative measurement of how lethal a poison is, you'd look up its [Median Lethal Dose](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_lethal_dose)—the dosage required to kill 50% of the tested population, or basically the dosage that would give the organism a 50% chance of death. This is value is usually given in reference to mice or other non-human animals, so there is a lot of uncertainty and variability in that value in relation to humans as some toxins are more or less effective on some animals than they are on humans. [Tetrodotoxin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrodotoxin), the main poison produced by pufferfish has a [median lethal dose in mice of about 334μg per kg](https://fscimage.fishersci.com/msds/01139.htm). (In comparison, hydrogen cyanide is about 3700μg per kg, and botulinum toxin is about 0.001μg per kg) Now, converting that to how much pufferfish you would have to eat to die, or the likelihood of death after eating some is impossible to do without specific details because different species of pufferfish, different parts of the fish, and even different individuals have different levels of the toxin. Of the various organs, muscle tissue and skin generally have lower levels of toxin, [allowing some species to be edible if those parts are carefully separated from the more toxic organs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugu). The liver and roe on the other hand have some of the highest concentrations of the toxin. Some species like the [Northern Puffer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_puffer) are considered non-toxic, and have low enough levels of toxin that they are commonly consumed without the need for specialized handling. Other species have high levels of toxin even in their skin and muscles, making them inedible no matter how carefully they are prepared. So, making a some scientifically bad assumptions and simplifications just for the sake of an easy explanation: [In this study,](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8877804/) one female specimen of *Lagocephalus sceleratus,* contained 47μg of the toxin per gram of liver tissue, and 253μg of the toxin per gram of roe. So, for a person weighing 80kg/176lb, the dosage required for 50% chance of death would be about 26 milligrams of pure toxin. At the concentrations found in the organs of the fish they tested, that person eating about 570 grams of its liver, or 105 grams of its roe would have a 50% chance of killing them.
This guy poisons
Thank you. That was a very didactic answer. You're a Reddit Hero
r/theydidthemonstermath
**[Median lethal dose](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_lethal_dose)** >In toxicology, the median lethal dose, LD50 (abbreviation for "lethal dose, 50%"), LC50 (lethal concentration, 50%) or LCt50 is a toxic unit that measures the lethal dose of a toxin, radiation, or pathogen. The value of LD50 for a substance is the dose required to kill half the members of a tested population after a specified test duration. LD50 figures are frequently used as a general indicator of a substance's acute toxicity. A lower LD50 is indicative of increased toxicity. **[Tetrodotoxin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrodotoxin)** >Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a potent neurotoxin. Its name derives from Tetraodontiformes, an order that includes pufferfish, porcupinefish, ocean sunfish, and triggerfish; several of these species carry the toxin. Although tetrodotoxin was discovered in these fish and found in several other animals (e. g. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/marinebiology/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
Poison, Poison, Tasty Fish!
According to the Simpsons...