Plant Toxins

Chemical defence by means of toxins poisonous to other organisms, be they animals or plants, is widespread amongst the plant kingdom - including microorganisms as well. This book embraces the analysis of a wide range of plant toxins and this fills a gap in the plant pathology and ecological biochemistry fields. The topics covered include toxic extracellular enzymes, host selective toxins, elicitors, phototoxins, aflatoxins, mycotoxins, and ecotoxic substance tests by pollen germination and growth. The analytical procedures, which are used to evaluate the toxins, are covered in such a way that the reader is able to carry them out mostly solely by following the detailed descriptions.

Toxic Constituents of Plant Foodstuffs focuses on toxic substances in foods of plant origin, including protease inhibitors, hemagglutinins, goitrogens, cyanogens, saponins, gossypol, lathyrogens, and allergens. The book also considers adventitious toxic factors in processed foods and miscellaneous toxic factors such as stimulants and depressants, hypoglycemic agents, toxic amino acids, metal-binding constituents, and hepatotoxins. This volume is organized into 13 chapters and begins with an overview of protease inhibitors, including their distribution in the plant kingdom, physical and chemical properties, and mechanism of interaction with proteases. The next chapters focus on the adventitious introduction of toxic factors into processed plant foods; the inactivation of the trypsin inhibitor and hemagglutinin found in legumes by cooking; and the extraction of a nontoxic, edible starch from cycads. The reader is also introduced to lathyrism, the toxicity of agglutinins, occurrence of goitrogens in thioglucoside-containing plants, and dietary sources of cyanogen. This book will be of interest and value to food scientists who are concerned with the safety of food supply and public health officials tasked with enforcing regulations necessary to ensure the safety of a particular food.

The prevalence of naturally occurring toxins in plant and animal foods represents one of the most significant food safety issues, drawing the attention of both scientists and regulators alike. This unexplored area related to food quality is indeed a big concern for consumers, various regulatory authorities, and food industries. Apart from essential nutrients, several food crops are capable of producing a vast array of nonnutritious secondary metabolic products. These toxins produced as secondary metabolites have the potential to exhibit both beneficial and deleterious effects in both human beings and animals. Nevertheless, there has been huge progress in agricultural practices and food processing technologies, but still the number of nonnutritive substances and naturally derived toxins persist in our diet. Handbook of Plant and Animal Toxins in Food: Occurrence, Toxicity, and Prevention, focuses on various selected toxins in foods derived from plants as well as animals. The prominent plant toxins include solanine and chaconine, mushroom toxins, phytates, tannins, oxalates, goitrogens, gossypol, phytohemagglutinins, erucic acid, saponins, cyanogenic glycosides, enzyme inhibitors, BOAA (lathyrogens), toxic amino acids and toxic fatty acids. The prominent animal toxins covered in the book include various seafood toxins, shellfish toxins and biogenic amines. Key Features: Presents complete information about a plethora of toxins Provides quick and easy access to data on major plant and animal toxins Covers distribution of toxins in the plant and animal kingdom Provides comprehensive information on chemistry, safety and precautions of each toxin Commencing with a brief introduction of food toxins, this book is designed in such a way that the readers will be introduced to toxicity, safety and occurrence of each toxin selected. It also discusses the in-depth detailed information on food poisoning and its prevention. The book will also shed light on foodborne illness associated with toxins. The primary audience for this work will be food scientists, food toxicologists, university scholars and college students. Furthermore, the book will be of immense help for public health officials, pharmacologists, and food safety officers who are involved with enforcing regulations meant to ensure the safety of a particular food

This book presents refereed and edited papers from the 6th International Symposium on Poisonous Plants, held in Scotland in August 2001. It covers a range of topics from plant biochemistry to toxic effects in animals (particularly grazing farmed animals) and humans. The contents include the evolution of antinutrients and toxins in plants, biomedical applications of toxins in plants, isolation, identification and effects of plant and fungal toxins and the effect of plant toxins on aversion to plants in animal diets.

This volume describes some of the new research published since volume 1 of the series, Plant and fungal toxins , was published in 1983. A few chapters update topics previously treated, but most describe in depth the toxicologic and chemical aspects of other topics. Thus volumes 1 and 6 together prov

"This richly illustrated book provides an in-depth natural history of the most poisonous plants on earth, covering everything from the lethal effects of hemlock and deadly nightshade to the uses of such plants in medicine, ritual, and chemical warfare"--Dust jacket.

Toxic plants and other natural toxicants have a variety of roles in the fields of human health, medical research and the production of safe food and also represent an economic problem in terms of animal health and crop production. Estimates of economic impact on livestock have ranged in the millions of dollars in countries such as Australia and the United States. This book brings together applied and fundamental research from botanists, chemists, biochemists, agricultural scientists, veterinarians and physicians and advice from regulatory bodies. It consists of more than 100 edited papers from the Fifth International Symposium on Poisonous Plants, held in Texas in May 1997. All aspects of poisonous plants, mycotoxicoses and herbal intoxications are covered. Their adverse effects are described, such as fatalities, reduced or failed reproduction, fetotoxicity, spontaneous abortions, deformities, reduced productivity and organ-specific toxicity. Methods of detection, isolation and identification of the chemical compounds responsible are included. The biochemistry of the plant-associated toxins and elucidation of their mechanism of action is investigated, including the protocols for management or eradication, immunization programs, behaviour modification, withholding periods for metabolic detoxification, regulatory advice concerning human usage of natural products and advice concerning toxin-residue in agricultural produce. The development of non-toxic strains of plants for use as fodder is also discussed. This book is essential reading for toxicologists concerned with animal and human health, food industry regulators and plant scientists.