INTRODUCTION Human contact with potentially toxic plants, which may occur through abuse or by accident or attempted suicide, is frequent and sometimes results in clinically significant toxicity. OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study was to identify which plants may lead to severe poisoning, and to define the clinical relevance of plant toxicity for humans in Switzerland. METHODS We analyze...

The medicinal plants are of great use in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, agricultural and food industry. The efficacy of some herbal products is beyond doubt, the most recent examples being Silybum marianum (Linn.) Gaertn (Silymarin), Artemisia annua Linn. (Artemesinin) and Taxus baccata Linn.(taxol). Randomized, controlled trials have proved the efficacy of some established remedies, for instance Zi...

Gas exchange, tissue water relations, and leaf/root dry weight ratios were compared among young, container-grown plants of five temperate-zone, deciduous tree species (Acer negundo L., Betula papyrifera Marsh, Malus baccata Borkh, Robinia pseudoacacia L., and Ulmus parvifolia Jacq.) under well-watered and water-stressed conditions. There was a small decrease (mean reduction of 0.22 MPa across s...

Alkaloids, nitrogen-containing secondary plant metabolites, are of major interest to veterinary toxicology because of their occurrence in plant species commonly involved in animal poisoning. Based on epidemiological data, the poisoning of cattle and horses by alkaloid-containing plants is a relatively common occurrence in Europe. Poisoning may occur when the plants contaminate hay or silage or ...