<Dd> 4 Au + 8 KCN + O + 2 H O → 4 K (Au (CN)) + 4 KOH </Dd> <P> A similar process uses NaCN to produce sodium gold cyanide (NaAu (CN)). </P> <P> Potassium cyanide is a potent inhibitor of cellular respiration, acting on mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase, hence blocking oxidative phosphorylation . This prevents the body from oxidizing food to produce useful energy . Lactic acidosis then occurs as a consequence of anaerobic metabolism . Initially, acute cyanide poisoning causes a red or ruddy complexion in the victim because the tissues are not able to use the oxygen in the blood . The effects of potassium and sodium cyanide are identical, and symptoms of poisoning typically occur within a few minutes of ingesting the substance: the person loses consciousness, and brain death eventually follows . During this period the victim may suffer convulsions . Death is caused by cerebral hypoxia . </P> <P> The lethal dose (human) for potassium cyanide is 20 mg . Its toxicity when ingested depends on the acidity of the stomach, because it must react with an acid to become hydrogen cyanide, the deadly form of cyanide . Grigori Rasputin may have survived a potassium cyanide poisoning because his stomach acidity was unusually low . </P>

How long does it take potassium cyanide to kill you