As a poison, arsenic trioxide (As2O3) has several desirable qualities: it looks like sugar and is tasteless, and only a fraction of a gram can kill an adult.
Is arsenic trioxide poisonous?
Introduction. Arsenic is a deadly poison identified as the cause of acute poisoning in suicide, homicide, and accidents. Arsenic trioxide is used as an antineoplastic agent in promyelocytic leukemia.
How does arsenic cause death?
Messing with the ATP pathway can disturb neurological and cardiovascular systems, and can make it difficult for muscles to fire. If the dosage in the body is high enough, arsenic poisoning can eventually cause multi-system organ failure, most likely driven by cell death and hemorrhaging.