The term pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) describes a group of more than 350 individual compounds that share as a basic structure one of the four necine bases platynecine, retronecine, heliotridine, or otonecine. PAs are produced as secondary metabolites of more than 6000 plant species, belonging to the families of Boraginaceae, Compositae (Asteraceae) and Leguminosae (Fabaceae) and occur world-wi...

The most successful alternative to traditional surgery for ocular muscle spasm treatment is the intramuscular injection of botulinum toxin (BTX), which allows maintenance dynamics and absence scars. However, main BTX disadvantage its nonpermanent effect. A possible way overcoming this obstacle could be represented by enzymatic using plant toxins known as ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs). I...

The objective of the present study was to monitor the occurrence and distribution of a spectrum of trichothecene toxins in different parts of maize plants. Therefore maize plants were sampled randomly from 13 fields in southwest Germany and the fractions kernels, cobs, husks, stalks, leaves and rudimentary ears were analyzed for eight A-type and five B-type trichothecenes. Each of the toxins wa...

Several protein toxins, including the A chain of the plant protein ricin (RTA), enter mammalian cells by endocytosis and catalytically modify cellular components to disrupt essential cellular processes. In the case of ricin, the process inhibited is protein synthesis. In order to reach their cytosolic substrates, several toxins undergo retrograde transport to the ER (endoplasmic reticulum) befo...

Dietary phytonutrients found in vegetables and fruit appear to lower the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Studies on the mechanisms of chemoprotection have focused on the biological activity of plant-based phenols and polyphenols, flavonoids, isoflavones, terpenes, and glucosinolates. Enhancing the phytonutrient content of plant foods through selective breeding or genetic improvement ...

Poisoning with the plant Lasiospermum bipinnatum was studied in 9 lambs at various dose levels. Dyspnoea and tachypnoea, which were dose-related, were observed in 4 of the lambs. Gross and microscopic pulmonary lesions were found in all the lambs receiving plant material originating from one source but not in those given plant from another locality. The severity of the lesions appeared to be do...

The antivenom properties of methanolic extract of Ficus iteophylla miq and Borassus aethiopum plants were investigated against the venom of Naja mossandica snake. Both plant extracts effectively reduced the Naja mossandica venom induced hemolytic activity. The result reveals that hemolysis due to venom was 81.5% without extract but the heomolytic activity was drastically reduced by Ficus iteoph...

As they belong to the most species-rich class of tetrapod vertebrates, birds have long been believed to possess an inferior taste system. However, the bitter taste is fundamental in birds to recognize dietary toxins (which are typically bitter) in potential food sources. To characterize the evolution of avian bitter taste receptor genes (Tas2rs) and to test whether dietary toxins have shaped th...

The toxic moiety of almost all protein-based targeted toxins must enter the cytosol of the target cell to mediate its fatal effect. Although more than 500 targeted toxins have been investigated in the past decades, no antibody-targeted protein toxin has been approved for tumor therapeutic applications by the authorities to date. Missing efficacy can be attributed in many cases to insufficient e...

Transgenic crops producing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) proteins kill key insect pests, providing economic and environmental benefits. However, the evolution of pest resistance threatens the continued success of such Bt crops. To delay or counter resistance, transgenic plant "pyramids" producing two or more Bt proteins that kill the same pest have been adopted extensively. Field populations of t...