Toxins, Volume 16, Issue 3

Alkaloids play an essential role in protecting plants against herbivores. Humans can also benefit from the pharmacological effects of these compounds. Plants produce an immense variety of structurally different alkaloids, including quinolizidine alka...

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a Gram-positive bacterium that forms spores and produces parasporal crystalline inclusions containing Cry and Cyt proteins [...]

Long-standing facial palsy sequelae cause functional, aesthetic, and psychological problems in patients. Botulinum toxin is an effective way to manage them, but no standardized recommendations exist. Through this non-systematic review, we aimed to gu...

Poultry may face simultaneous exposure to aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and tiamulin (TIA), given mycotoxin contamination and antibiotic use. As both mycotoxins and antibiotics can affect cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP450), our study aimed to explore their inter...

Toad Venom (TV) is the dried product of toxic secretions from Bufo bufo gargarizans Cantor (BgC) or B. melanostictus Schneider (BmS). Given the increasing medical demand and the severe depletion of wild toads, a number of counterfeit TVs appeare...

Mycotoxins have been linked to adverse health impacts, including liver cancer and kidney diseases. The objectives of the current study were to evaluate the dietary exposure of Lebanese adults to multi-mycotoxins (aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), aflatoxin M1 (AF...

Island tameness results largely from a lack of natural predators. Because some insular rattlesnake populations lack functional rattles, presumably the consequence of relaxed selection from reduced predation, we hypothesized that the Santa Catalina Is...

The ESKAPE pathogen-associated antimicrobial resistance is a global public health issue, and novel therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. The short cationic antimicrobial peptide (AMP) family represents an important subfamily of scorpion-derived...

More recently, short peptides in scorpion venom have received much attention because of their potential for drug discovery. Although various biological effects of these short peptides have been found, their studies have been hindered by the lack of s...

In the context of nephrotoxic risks associated with environmental contaminants, this study focused on the impact of mycotoxin exposure on the renal health of laying hens, with particular attention to oxidative stress pathways. Sixty laying hens were...

Cancer pain is one of the most disabling symptoms complained by cancer patients, with a crucial impact on physical and psychological well-being. Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) type A and B have emerged as potential interventions for chronic pain; howe...

The protein profile of Bothrops rhombeatus venom was compared to Bothrops asper and Bothrops atrox, and the effectiveness of antivenoms from the National Institute of Health of Colombia (INS) and Antivipmyn-Tri (AVP-T) of Mexico were analyzed. Protei...

Background: The presence of ochratoxin A (OTA) in food and feed is a public health concern. OTA intoxication is caused by several mechanisms, one of which consists of the alteration of the antioxidant activity of the cell due to the oxidative stress...

Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) is a cyanobacterial metabolite produced during cyanobacterial blooms and is toxic to aquatic animals, and the liver is the main targeted organ of MC-LR. To comprehensively understand the toxicity mechanism of chronic exposure t...

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are key molecules in the innate immune defence of vertebrates with rapid action, broad antimicrobial spectrum, and ability to evade pathogen resistance mechanisms. To date, amphibians are the major group of vertebrates f...

Shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) causes a wide spectrum of diseases including hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). The current Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) testing methods for STEC use the Food and Drug Admin...

The French Society of Toxinology (SFET), which celebrated its 30th anniversary this year, organized its 29th annual Meeting (RT29), shared by 87 participants, on 30 November–1 December 2023. The RT29 main theme, “Toxins: From the Wild to...

Bothrofav, a monospecific antivenom, was introduced in June 1991 and has shown excellent effectiveness against life-threatening and thrombotic complications of Bothrops lanceolatus envenoming. Because of the reoccurrence of cerebral stroke events des...

Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) is a secondary metabolite produced by cyanobacteria, globally renowned for its potent hepatotoxicity. However, an increasing body of research suggests that it also exhibits pronounced neurotoxicity. PP2A is a fundamental intrac...

Biliary atresia (BA) is a poorly understood and devastating obstructive bile duct disease of newborns. Biliatresone, a plant toxin, causes BA-like syndrome in some animals, but its relevance in humans is unknown. To validate the hypothesis that bilia...

Aegerolysins are a family of proteins that recognize and bind to specific membrane lipids or lipid domains; hence they can be used as membrane lipid sensors. Although aegerolysins are distributed throughout the tree of life, the most studied are thos...

Central America is home to one of the most abundant herpetofauna in the Americas, occupying only 7% of the continent’s total area. Vipers and lizards are among the most relevant venomous animals in medical practice due to the consequences of en...

During an experiment where we were cultivating aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus on peanuts, we accidentally discovered that a bacterium adhering to the peanut strongly inhibited aflatoxin (AF) production by A. flavus. The bacterium, isolated and iden...

(1) Background: Sequels of facial palsy lead to major psychosocial repercussions, disrupting patients’ quality of life (QoL). Botulinum toxin (BoNT) injections can permit us to treat long-standing facial palsy, improving facial symmetry and fun...

The mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) was one of the priority substances in the European Joint Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) project. In this study, to better interpret the actual internal exposure of DON in the general population and safeguar...

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is a Gram-negative bacterium associated with localized aggressive periodontitis as well as some systemic diseases. The strains of A. actinomycetemcomitans most closely associated with disease produce more of a se...

The presence of mycotoxins and their masked forms in chicken feed poses a significant threat to both productivity and health. This review examines the multifaceted impacts of mycotoxins on various aspects of chicken well-being, encompassing feed effi...

DepA, a pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ)-dependent enzyme isolated from Devosia mutans 17-2-E-8, exhibits versatility in oxidizing deoxynivalenol (DON) and its derivatives. This study explored DepA’s substrate specificity and enzyme kinetics, foc...

Ribosome inactivating proteins (RIPs) are specific N-β-glycosylases that are well-characterized in plants. Their enzymatic action is to damage ribosomes, thereby blocking protein translation. Recently, several research groups have been working o...

The oriental armyworm, Mythimna separata (Walker), an important migratory pest of maize and wheat, is posing a severe threat to maize production in Asian countries. As source areas of spring–summer emigratory populations, the control of M. sepa...

Mastering selective molecule trafficking across human cell membranes poses a formidable challenge in healthcare biotechnology while offering the prospect of breakthroughs in drug delivery, gene therapy, and diagnostic imaging. The cholera toxin B-sub...

Viruses are one of the leading causes of human disease, and many highly pathogenic viruses still have no specific treatment drugs. Therefore, producing new antiviral drugs is an urgent matter. In our study, we first found that the natural wasp venom...

RNA viruses of the genera Ambivirus, Mitovirus, Sclerotimonavirus, and Partitivirus were found in a single isolate of Fusarium graminearum. The genomes of the mitovirus, sclerotimonavirus, and partitivirus were assigned to previously described v...

Nature abounds with an unprecedented diversity of biomolecular innovation [...]

Harmful cyanobacterial blooms are becoming more common and persistent around the world. When in bloom, various cyanobacterial strains can produce anatoxins in high concentrations, which, unlike other cyanobacterial toxins, may be present in clear wat...

Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels, plays a critical role in various physiological and pathological conditions. Snake venom disintegrins (SVDs) have been identified as significant regulators of this process. In this review, we explore t...

Ochratoxin A (OTA), a mycotoxin commonly found in feedstuffs, is known for its detrimental effects on the kidneys and liver, posing significant health risks to animals and humans. This study investigated the toxicokinetics, excretion patterns, and mi...

Five peptides were isolated from the venom of the Mexican scorpion Centruroides bonito by chromatographic procedures (molecular weight sieving, ion exchange columns, and HPLC) and were denoted Cbo1 to Cbo5. The first four peptides contain 66 amino ac...

Snakes contain three types of phospholipase A₂ (PLA₂)-inhibitory proteins in their blood, PLIα, β, and γ, which protect them from their own venom, PLA₂. PLIβ is the snake ortholog of leucine-rich α₂ glycoprotein (LRG). Sin...

The heterogeneity in venom composition and potency in disparate Eastern Russell’s viper (Daboia siamensis) populations has repercussions for the efficacy of antivenoms. This is particularly pronounced in geographical areas in which the venom of...

Purpose: Neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD) is common in patients with neurological lesions in the central nervous system (CNS). Medical treatment usually cannot adequately relieve NLUTD. This study reported the real-life treatment ou...

A recent study published data on the growth performance, relative weights of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract, liver histology, serum biochemistry, and hematological parameters for turkey poults fed an experimental diet contaminated with afla...

Zearalenone (ZEN) is a non-steroidal estrogenic mycotoxin found in many agricultural products and can cause reproductive disorders, mainly affecting spermatogenesis in male animals. Rutin (RUT) is a natural flavonoid compound recognized for its signi...

Among the various natural compounds used in alternative and Oriental medicine, toxins isolated from different organisms have had their application for many years, and Apis mellifera venom has been studied the most extensively. Numerous studies dealin...

Magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MMIPs) have fused molecular imprinting technology with magnetic separation technology, emerging as an innovative material capable of recognizing specific molecules and efficiently separating target substances....

The objective of this study was to determine the association between mycotoxins and the quality of spermatozoa in Nigeria. We designed a prospective case-control study involving 136 men diagnosed with reduced sperm count and quality in five infertili...

Ciguatoxins (CTXs) are neurotoxins responsible for ciguatera poisoning (CP), which affects more than 50,000 people worldwide annually. The development of analytical methods to prevent CP is a pressing global issue, and the N2a assay is one of the mos...

There is a limited research focus on evaluating the detrimental effects of prolonged zearalenone (ZEN) intake on dairy cows’ health under controlled conditions. This experiment was conducted to evaluate whether the length of exposure to a ZEN-c...

We thank the author for showing interest in our article [...]

The presence of pathogenic fungi and contamination of mycotoxins in food and feed pose significant threats and challenging issues to food in the world [...]