Can Botanical Toxins Enhance Human Health?

A special issue of Toxins (ISSN 2072-6651).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2010) | Viewed by 15724

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging, Laboratory of Neurosciences, NIA Biomedical Research Center, Room 05C214, 251 Bayview Blvd. Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
Interests: oxidative stress and calcium regulation; apoptosis (programmed cell death); neuroprotective signal transduction; synaptic signaling and plasticity; genetic aberrancies and neurodegeneration; diet and neuronal vulnerability; neuroendocrine and neuroimmune mechanisms

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plants, or fungi and bacteria living in or on plants, produce chemicals that function as natural pesticides to dissuade insects and other organisms from damaging the plant. Such "botanical pesticides" (BPs) are often concentrated in the most vulnerable and reproductively essential parts of the plant including the skin of fruits and the buds of vegetables. The structures of BPs vary considerably and include terpenoids, alkaloids, flavonoids, aldehydes, sulphides and limonoids. Human diets include BPs, with the amounts and types of BPs consumed being greater for vegetarians and those who eat organic produce. The purpose of this special issue of TOXINS is to describe evidence suggesting that at least some BPs may be responsible for health benefits of fruits, vegetables and herbal preparations. BPs may exert their beneficial effects by activating adaptive cellular stress response pathways, resulting in increased production of cytoprotective proteins including antioxidant enzymes, detoxifying enzymes and protein chaperones. Animals have evolved metabolic pathways that detoxify BPs, and so the "toxic" effect of the BPs is typically transient and mild. In contrast, man-made pesticides may not be metabolized and so accumulate in amounts that may damage cells and cause disease. The authors provide mini-reviews and their own perspectives on this issue including coverage of evolutionary considerations and the concept of "hormesis", BP structures and biological activities, examples of health benefits of specific BPs, cellular signal transduction mechanisms of BPs in mammals, and a consideration of BP metabolism. Finally, articles in this special issue of TOXINS consider the implications of research on BPs for drug discovery, and the prevention and treatment of human diseases.

Mark P. Mattson, Ph. D.
Guest Editor

Keywords

  • alkaloids
  • antioxidant enzymes
  • evolution; flavonoids
  • hormesis
  • organic vegetables and fruits
  • pest resistance
  • terpenoids

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

546 KiB  
Review
Biological Profile of Erucin: A New Promising Anticancer Agent from Cruciferous Vegetables
by Antonietta Melchini and Maria H. Traka
Toxins 2010, 2(4), 593-612; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins2040593 - 5 Apr 2010
Cited by 87 | Viewed by 15227
Abstract
Consumption of cruciferous vegetables has been associated with a reduced risk in the development of various types of cancer. This has been attributed to the bioactive hydrolysis products that are derived from these vegetables, namely isothiocyanates. Erucin is one such product derived from [...] Read more.
Consumption of cruciferous vegetables has been associated with a reduced risk in the development of various types of cancer. This has been attributed to the bioactive hydrolysis products that are derived from these vegetables, namely isothiocyanates. Erucin is one such product derived from rocket salads, which is structurally related to sulforaphane, a well-studied broccoli-derived isothiocyanate. In this review, we present current knowledge on mechanisms of action of erucin in chemoprevention obtained from cell and animal models and relate it to other isothiocyanates. These mechanisms include modulation of phase I, II and III detoxification, regulation of cell growth by induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, induction of ROS-mechanisms and regulation androgen receptor pathways. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Can Botanical Toxins Enhance Human Health?)
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