Plant-Derived Scavengers Prowl the Body for Nerve Toxins

Inhibiting Microbial Toxins Using Plant-Derived Compounds and Plant Extracts

Many pathogenic bacteria and fungi produce potentially lethal toxins that cause cytotoxicity or impaired cellular function either at the site of colonization or other locations in the body through receptor-mediated interactions. Various factors, including biotic and abiotic environments, competing microbes, and chemical cues affect toxin expression in these pathogens. Recent work suggests that ...

Stakeholders on the Prowl

Introduction to the Toxins Special Issue on Plant Toxins

Stoichiometric and Catalytic Scavengers as Protection against Nerve Agent Toxicity

The use of a human protein such as plasma-derived butyrylcholinesterase (huBuChE) to neutralize the toxic effects of nerve agents in vivo has previously been shown to provide both survival in guinea pigs and nonhuman primates and protection against decreased cognitive function in guinea pigs following exposure to a cumulative challenge of 5.5 LD50 of soman. Subsequently, a recombinant form of h...

Natural Toxins in Plant Foodstuffs

Since food plants are mixtures of large numbers of chemical compounds and since any substance is toxic in a high enough dose, it is not surprising that natural food plants are toxic under certain conditions. Toxicity from common natural foods has resulted from long-term consumption of a single food item or from short periods of consumption of foods containing unusually high levels of a toxic su...