Antimony and Stibine
Antimony (Sb) is a versatile trace element widely used for hardening soft metal alloys; for compounding rubber; as a major flame retardant component (5–20%) in plastics, textiles, and clothing; and as a coloring agent in dyes, varnishes, paints, and glazes. Exposure to antimony dusts and fumes may also occur during mining and refining of ores, in glassworking, and from the discharge of firearms. Organic pentavalent antimony compounds (sodium stibogluconate and antimoniate meglumine) are commonly used worldwide as antiparasitic drugs. Foreign or folk remedies may contain antimony potassium tartrate (“tartar emetic”), which was widely used in previous centuries as an emetic and purgative. Stibine (antimony hydride, SbH3) is a colorless gas with the odor of rotten eggs that is produced as a by-product when antimony-containing ore or furnace slag is treated with acid.
Mechanism of toxicity. The mechanism of antimony and stibine toxicity is not known. Because these compounds are chemically related to arsenic and arsine gas, respectively, their modes of action may be similar.
Antimony compounds probably act by binding to sulfhydryl groups, enhancing oxidative stress, and inactivating key enzymes. Ingested antimonials are also corrosive to GI mucosal membranes.
Stibine, like arsine, may cause hemolysis. It is also an irritant gas.
Toxic dose
The lethal oral dose of metallic antimony in rats is 100 mg/kg of body weight; the trivalent and pentavalent oxides are less toxic, with LD50
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