[a]pyrene (BaP), a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and animal carcinogen, is used by regulators as the basis for quantitative risk estimation of PAH-containing combustion by-products (1). Is BaP an appropriate predictor of cancer risk for products of incomplete combustion? A multidose, 2-year (chronic) feeding protocol developed by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences i...

A successful protocol was established for micropropagation in two selected varieties of exotic ornamental plants, Calathea crotalifera. The effects of different sterilization techniques, explant type, and the combination and concentration of plant growth regulators on shoots induction were studied. The axillary shoot buds explants sprouted from rhizomes in soil free conditions showed high induc...

The Hymenocallis littoralis, an ornamental and medicinal plant, had been traditionally used for wound healing. In the present study, an analytical method using HPLC with ultraviolet detection was developed for the quantification of lycorine in the extracts of different parts of wild plant and tissue culture samples of H. littoralis. The separation was achieved using a reversed-phase column. The...

Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is a human carcinogen requiring metabolic activation prior to reaction with DNA. Cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1A1 is the most important hepatic and intestinal enzyme in both BaP activation and detoxification. CYP1A2 is also capable of oxidizing BaP, but to a lesser extent. The induction of CYP1A1/2 by BaP and/or β-naphthoflavone in liver and small intestine of rats was investigate...

Metabolism of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) in vivo and in vitro was studied using two benthic fish species, English sole (Parophrys vetulus) and starry flounder (Platichthys stellatus), and Sprague-Dawley rats. At 24 h after administration of BaP (7.9 mumol/kg of body weight) to fish either p.o. (Experiment 1) or i.p. (Experiment 2), the specific activity of binding of BaP metabolites to hepatic DNA (p...

Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is a by-product of incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and plant/wood products, including tobacco. A physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model for BaP for the rat was extended to simulate inhalation exposures to BaP in rats and humans including particle deposition and dissolution of absorbed BaP and renal elimination of 3-hydroxy benzo[a]pyrene (3-OH BaP) in huma...

With the aim of developing an efficient plant regeneration protocol, leaflet explants of three accessions of Arachis villosa Benth. (S2866, S2867 and L97) were cultured on basic Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with different combinations of plant growth regulators: alpha-naphthalenacetic acid, indole-3-butyric acid, 6-benzylaminopurine, kinetin and thidiazuron. The accession L97 was the...

Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is a human carcinogen that covalently binds to DNA after metabolic activation by cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes. In this study human recombinant CYPs (CYP1A1, 1A2, 1B1, 2A6, 2B6, 2C8, 2C9, 2C19, 2E1, 3A4, and 3A5) were expressed in Supersomes™ together with their reductases, NADPH:CYP oxidoreductase, epoxide hydrolase and cytochrome b5 , to investigate BaP metabolism. Human ...

Background: Chrysanthemum; also commonly known as mums or chrysanths, is one of the most important ornamental crops worldwide. Introducing desirable traits into this valuable plant by the conventional breeding has so far been faced with some restrictions due to the limited gene pool and cross-incompatibility. Therefore, breeders have decided to exploit Agrobacterium-mediated tr...