A
dose is a quantity of something (
chemical, physical, or
biological) that may impact an organism biologically; the greater the quantity, the larger the dose. In
nutrition, the term is usually applied to how much of a specific
nutrient is in a person's diet or in a particular food, meal, or
dietary supplement. In
medicine, the term is usually applied to the quantity of a
drug or other agent administered for
therapeutic purposes. In
toxicology dose may refer to the amount of a harmful agent (such as a
poison,
carcinogen,
mutagen, or
teratogen), to which an organism is exposed.