BACKGROUND Despite evidence suggesting a role in plant defence, the use of plant lectins in crop protection has been hindered by their low and species-specific insecticidal activity. Snowdrop lectin (Galanthus nivalis agglutinin; GNA) is transported to the haemolymph of insects after oral ingestion, and can be used as a basis for novel insecticides. Recombinant proteins containing GNA expressed...

The concept of plant defense using toxic mineral elements originated as an explanation for extremely elevated concentrations of some elements (termed hyperaccumulation) in some plant tissues. The Defensive Enhancement Hypothesis suggests that hyperaccumulation evolved because, after an initial defensive benefit accrued from a relatively low initial concentration, increased concentration of an e...

s Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic heavy metal that enters the environment through various anthropogenic sources, and inhibits plant growth and development. Cadmium toxicity may result from disturbance in plant metabolism as a consequence of disturbance in the uptake and translocation of mineral nutrients. Plant nutrients and Cd compete for the same transport-ers and, therefore, presence of Cd results i...

Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic heavy metal that enters the environment through various anthropogenic sources, and inhibits plant growth and development. Cadmium toxicity may result from disturbance in plant metabolism as a consequence of disturbance in the uptake and translocation of mineral nutrients. Plant nutrients and Cd compete for the same transporters and, therefore, presence of Cd results in m...

The toxicity and mutagenic potential of most African plants implicated in the management of cancer have not been investigated. The ethanolic extracts of selected Nigerian plants were subsequently studied using the brine shrimp lethality tests, inhibition of telomerase activity and induction of chromosomal aberrations in vivo in rat lymphocytes. Morinda lucida root bark, Nymphaea lotus whole pla...

Ribosome-inactivating proteins are a group of closely related proteins that are widely distributed throughout the plant kingdom and which share the unusual property of being able to inactivate mammalian ribosomes by an enzymic (non-stoichiometric) mechanism (1). Two major classes of these proteins are found in plants. The first contains the plant toxins (ricin, abrin, modeccin) in which an enzy...

All aluminium smelter plants discharges high volume extremely toxic electrolytic cell waste known as spent pot liner. Over the years scientists have improvised various methods for disposing these toxic wastes either by diluting with inert material or recovering its carbon value after decontaminating the toxic waste. Present paper outlines conceptual design of a commercial treatment plant which ...

environmental pollution by various pollutants is one of the most important problems of this century. at least 20 elements, including chromium have been classified in toxic metals group, that half of them are released in the environment in excessive amounts of standards. chromium is a toxic pollutant that is widely spread in the environment and exists in cement and concrete. the aim of this stud...