Ricin toxin is well to act as a sub- acute toxin in humans to produce lethality between 2-5 days on the basis of concentration and portals of administration of toxin.However its role in reproductive toxicity has not been documented well and Jordanian scientists have made an attempt to assess the role for ricin in reproductive toxicity in pregnant female rats.

Rats intraperitoneally treated with ricin and castor bean extracts displayed symptoms of body weight loss and death of foetuses at 5-9 days of pregnancy while attrition of implantation sites was noticed with first 6 consecutive days of pregnancy.The toxicological function was not significantly reversed with gonadotrophin hormone in experimental subjects exposed to toxin.Hence the researchers were able to conclude that castor bean constituents including ricin have anti implantation and ovulation properties through their overlapped reproductive toxicological studies.

Results of this study is difficult to interpret as multiple parameters including strain,species,sex,age,feed,time,concentration of the toxin,mode of administration,animal size of the experimental study have a profound influence in the outcome of the study.Adopting International standard guidelines in toxicology  will greatly improves the precision and accuracy of the experiment.

For reference: http://www.contraceptionjournal.org/articl/S0010-7824%2899%2900045-1/abstract