Xenobiotics are chemical compounds.
Xenobiotic is a notion that is formed from two Greek words: xeno (which can be translated as "strange" ) and bio (linked to "life" ). The concept, in this way, refers to those compounds that have a chemical structure that does not exist in nature , but has been developed by man in a laboratory .
Xenobiotics, therefore, are synthetic compounds . It can be said that they are chemical products that human beings manufacture for different purposes: they can range from pesticides to drugs used for therapeutic purposes. In short, xenobiotics are chemical compounds that do not belong to the natural composition of living organisms.
Characteristics of xenobiotics
Although xenobiotics can degrade through oxidation or solar radiation , for example, their unusual characteristics mean that, in some cases, they remain unchanged for very long periods. Therefore, given the impossibility of biodegrading, many xenobiotics are highly polluting .
It is important to keep in mind that xenobiotics usually have consequences on living beings, beyond the different levels of toxicity that they may present.
There are medications that are xenobiotics.
Other information of interest
Other data of interest about xenobiotics are the following:
- As a rule, they have appeared in our life and been shaped in the last century.
- When they have the peculiarity that they can remain unchanged over time, they are called recalcitrant . This characteristic they possess is due to the fact that they have a chemical structure of enormous stability.
- They have a non-polar structure.
- Among the most popular xenobiotics, most present in our lives and that have managed to develop the most in recent years are pesticides . These, as their name indicates, are the compounds and substances that aim to prevent, control or combat pests. In this way, what they do is protect man, animals and the environment in general.
- At the health level, xenobiotics, which are medicines and are used to treat serious diseases, such as cancer, take on special relevance.
- These compounds that concern us can even be used as weapons. This would be the case, for example, of what is known as sarin . This is an organophosphate-type compound, similar to insecticides and pesticides, which has great toxicity and is distributed throughout the environment, through the air. It has the particularity that it has no color or smell either. So much so that, in some conflicts, it has been used as a chemical weapon. And whoever comes into contact with it begins to suffer blurred vision, vomiting, watering eyes, increased heart rate...
Xenobiotics as pollutants
Certain xenobiotics, such as veterinary drugs or pesticides, may appear in the production of certain foods.
In this case, these are contaminants that affect milk and other products and whose elimination by industrial action is often not possible. That is why it is common for States to establish regulations to limit the presence of residues in food, preventing marketing when certain marks are exceeded. In addition, controls are established in the first stages of production.