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Nature can make some pretty brutal toxins—
things you don’t want to touch, eat, inhale,
or really have anything to do with.
And as far as toxins go,
the element antimony is a triple-threat:
It can harm you whether you swallow it, breathe it in,
or absorb it through your skin.
So it might not exactly sound like something you’d want to welcome into your life.
But as it happens, this particular toxin isn’t just harmful: It’s also useful…
and it could even save your life.
Antimony is number 51 on the periodic table.
It’s not a metal, but it’s not not a metal, either.
It’s officially called a metalloid,
which means it looks like metal but isn’t as strong.
And as humans,
our relationship with antimony is…complicated.
That’s partly because its harmful effects on the human body are well-documented.
For one, it’s poisonous if you swallow it or inhale it.
Research has associated antimony with eye, skin,
and lung irritation after short-term exposures.
Long-term exposure has also been linked with lung disease, heart problems,
and gastrointestinal issues.
And just to put a cherry on top, it can also mess with cells’ DNA
and cause cancer.
So, there are plenty of good reasons to be wary of it.
But it’s hard to completely cut antimony out of our lives
because it also has lots of useful properties.
In particular, it’s durable, it’s tough, and when it's combined with other elements,
it can make things fire-resistant.
For instance, today it's used to add fire resistance to products like flexible PVC,
which is a type of plastic you can find in certain types of flooring and plumbing…
and even rain boots.
Those chemical properties
also make it an important ingredient in everyday products
like batteries, ceramics, and certain paints.
And it’s used as a catalyst in the chemical reactions that produce polyester fabrics
and the clear, lightweight plastic that’s used for bottled water.
So it’s basically everywhere,
especially because anytime it’s used as a catalyst for chemical reactions,
some small fraction typically makes it into the product itself.
Fortunately, health officials say small amounts aren’t enough to harm you.
And while there’s not a ton of research on the topic,
the amount of antimony in our everyday products
is typically considered “small” enough to be safe.
But we don’t just keep antimony around for its practical uses.
For thousands of years, people have known antimony
not just as a toxin but as a healer.
Ancient Egyptians were known to swallow a compound
made of antimony and sulfur to treat flatworm infections.
Meanwhile, across the Mediterranean,
the Ancient Greeks used it as a skin medication.
And in the Middle Ages, Europeans used antimony too,
both as a laxative and to induce vomiting.
Which doesn’t quite square with its reputation
as a toxin that can ravage the body in all sorts of different ways.
But antimony actually is both a toxin and a healer.
While not all ancient remedies have aged well as we’ve learned more about medicine,
and you shouldn’t try those treatments at home,
some of the science behind the use of antimony
for healing has held up.
For instance, the stuff actually is anti-parasitic.
Scientists don’t exactly know how it works,
but one theory suggests that antimony may interfere
with parasites’ ability to produce the compounds they need to survive.
Other researchers think antimony might help kick your immune response into gear.
Either way, those Ancient Egyptian doctors were on to something
when they prescribed antimony to treat intestinal worms.
Even today, antimony is used to treat the parasitic disease Leishmaniasis,
which kills around 20,000 to 40,000 people a year.
And while too much antimony would mess up a person’s stomach,
a small dose can induce vomiting or act as a laxative.
Modern research has also found that
antimony seems to have anti-tumor properties.
Again, researchers aren’t exactly sure how it works.
It might work against cancer cells in a few different ways.
One idea is that it may block a certain protein that helps cancer cells spread.
In the case of leukemia, studies have suggested
that it disrupts an enzyme that helps cancer cells grow.
Whatever the mechanism is, laboratory studies have shown
that antimony does have medicinal properties.
It’s been shown to inhibit the growth of stomach and breast cancer cells.
It’s also had a positive effect on people with at least one type of leukemia.
Which means that, oddly enough,
this toxin that can cause cancer could also help treat it.
And that seems to sum up antimony:
It’s an element that can both take lives
and save lives, depending on how we interact with it.
It’s not to say that the healing won’t come
with some unpleasant side effects.
But if we use it wisely,
this unusual toxin can be an extremely useful part of our lives.
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