Toxicity study of the main alkaloids of Datura ferox in broilers

Antidepressant Effects of South African Plants: An Appraisal of Ethnobotanical Surveys, Ethnopharmacological and Phytochemical Studies

Globally, the search for safe and potent natural-based treatment for depression is receiving renewed interest given the numerous side-effects associated with many existing drugs. In South Africa, the use of plants to manage depression and related symptoms is fairly documented among different ethnic groups. In the current study, we reviewed existing ethnobotanical, ethnopharmacological and phytochemical studies on South African medicinal plants used to manage depression. Electronic databases were accessed for scientific literature that meets the inclusion criteria. Plants with ethnobotanical evidence were subjected to a further pharmacological review to establish the extent (if any) of their effectiveness as antidepressants. Critical assessment resulted in 20 eligible ethnobotanical records, which generated an inventory of 186 plants from 63 plant families. Due to the cultural differences observed in the definition of depression, or lack of definition in some cultures, most plants are reported to treat a wide range of atypical symptoms related to depression. Boophone disticha, Leonotis leonurus and Mentha longifolia were identified as the three most popular plants, with over eight mentions each from the ethnobotanical records. The dominant families were Asteraceae (24), Fabaceae (16), Amaryllidaceae (10), and Apocynaceae (10) which accounted for about 32% of the 186 plants. Only 27 (≈14.5%) of the plants have been screened for antidepressant activity using in vitro and in vivo models. Agapanthus campanulatus, Boophone disticha, Hypericum perforatum, Mondia whitei and Xysmalobium undulatum, represent the most studied plants. Phytochemical investigation on nine out of the 27 plants revealed 24 compounds with antidepressant-like effects. Some of these included buphanidrine and buphanamine which were isolated from the leaves of Boophone disticha, Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol and cannabichromene obtained from the buds of Cannabis sativa and carnosic acid, rosmarinic acid and salvigenin from Rosmarinus officinalis, A significant portion (≈85%) of 186 plants with ethnobotanical records still require pharmacological studies to assess their potential antidepressant-like effects. This review remains a valuable reference material that may guide future ethnobotanical surveys to ensure their robustness and validity as well as database to identify promising plants to screen for pharmacology efficacy.

Simultaneous quantification of atropine and scopolamine in infusions of herbal tea and Solanaceae plant material by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (tandem) mass spectrometry

RATIONALE

Atropine (Atr) and scopolamine (Scp) are toxic secondary plant metabolites of species within the Solanaceae genus that can accidentally or intentionally reach the food store chain by inaccurate harvesting of any plant material, e.g. for herbal tea infusions. Ingestion may cause severe anticholinergic poisoning thus requiring risk-oriented determination in food and beverages. The suitability of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (tandem) mass spectrometry, MALDI-TOF MS(/MS), should be characterized for simultaneous analysis.

METHODS

We herein present the first MALDI-TOF MS(/MS) procedure for quantitative determination of both alkaloids in herbal tea infusions and Solanaceae plant material. A standard additions procedure using triply deuterated Atr as internal standard was developed and validated.

RESULTS

Tropane alkaloids were detected without interferences and the standard additions procedure allowed reliable quantification. Intraday and interday precision were less than 17% and corresponding accuracies were between 77% and 112%. Limits of detection in the spotting solution were found at 5 ng/mL (Atr) and 0.5 ng/mL (Scp). The assay was applied to diverse tea infusions as well as to berries and leaves of deadly nightshade and angel's trumpet.

CONCLUSIONS

The usefulness of MALDI-TOF MS(/MS) for investigations of plant-derived samples to prove contaminations by small basic compounds was demonstrated. The elaborate procedure is reliable but quite laborious to obtain quantitative results, but MALDI-TOF MS(/MS) was also shown to be a valuable tool for rapid qualitative screening for Atr and Scp in plant extracts.

Toxicosis by Plant Alkaloids in Humans and Animals in Colombia

Due to its tropical location, chains of mountains, inter-Andean valleys, Amazon basin area, eastern plains and shores on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Colombia has many ecosystems and the second largest plant biodiversity in the world. Many plant species, both native and naturalized, are currently recognized as toxic for both animals and humans, and some of them are known to cause their toxic effects due to their alkaloid content. Among these, there are plants containing the hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, neurotoxins such as the indolizidine alkaloid swainsonine and the piperidine alkaloids coniine and γ-coniceine and tropane alkaloids. Unfortunately, the research in toxic plants in Colombia is not nearly proportional to its plant biodiversity and the scientific information available is only very scarce. The present review aims at summarizing the scarce information about plant alkaloid toxicosis in animals and humans in Colombia.

Śodhana: An Ayurvedic process for detoxification and modification of therapeutic activities of poisonous medicinal plants

Ayurveda involves the use of drugs obtained from plants, animals, and mineral origin. All the three sources of drugs can be divided under poisonous and nonpoisonous category. There are various crude drugs, which generally possess unwanted impurities and toxic substances, which can lead to harmful health problems. Many authors have reported that not all medicinal plants are safe to use since they can bear many toxic and harmful phytoconstituents in them. Śodhana (detoxification/purification) is the process, which involves the conversion of any poisonous drug into beneficial, nonpoisonous/nontoxic ones. Vatsanābha (Aconitum species), Semecarpus anacardium, Strychnos nux-vomica, Acorus calamus, Abrus precatorius etc., are some of the interesting examples of toxic plants, which are still used in the Indian system of medicine. Aconite, bhilawanols, strychnine, β-asarone, abrin are some of the toxic components present in these plants and are relatively toxic in nature. Śodhana process involves the purification as well as reduction in the levels of toxic principles which sometimes results in an enhanced therapeutic efficacy. The present review is designed to extensively discuss and understand the scientific basis of the alternative use of toxic plants as a medicine after their purification process.

Scopolamine in racing horses: trace identifications associated with dietary or environmental exposure

Scopolamine (L-hyoscine) identifications, often in small-number clusters, have been reported worldwide in performance horses over the last 30 years. Scopolamine is an Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) class 3, penalty class B, substance with potential to affect performance. As such, scopolamine identification(s) in race or performance horses can result in significant penalties for the connections of the horse(s). Reviewed here is the worldwide distribution of scopolamine containing plants (primarily Datura spp.), with estimates of their potential toxicity to horses through dietary and/or environmental exposure. Also reviewed are the basic pharmacology of scopolamine and its precursor, urinary concentrations following feedstuff exposure, and the probable pharmacological/forensic significance of such findings. Based on an overview of the world literature on scopolamine, the expected characteristics of inadvertent environmental exposure are also presented with a view to making clear the potential of scopolamine identifications, with or without atropine, as a direct and expected outcome of both the worldwide distribution of scopolamine-containing plants and the sensitivity of modern equine drug testing. It is of particular interest that only 2/30 reported post-event equine identifications of scopolamine have been associated with atropine, suggesting that failure to identify atropine is not a biomarker of pharmaceutical administration of scopolamine. Available quantitative information associated with scopolamine identifications is consistent with the 75 ng/mL regulatory threshold for scopolamine currently used in Louisiana racing in the USA and the 30 ng/mL reporting threshold in effect in European racing.

Anti-nutritional factors of Datura in feedstuffs

Soybean seed, linseed, some cereals seeds, and their by-products are infected by Datura seed weed of different varieties. The most common Datura spp. noxious to the farm animals are D. stramonium (atropine alkaloid) and D. ferox (scopolamine, 98-100% of total alkaloids) mainly present in Europe and South America, respectively. The presence of alkaloids from Datura seeds in feedingstuffs may be responsible for chronic and/or subclinical toxic effects; acute poisoning from Datura seeds are rare. Pigs are the most sensitive animals to Datura poisoning, followed by cattle, horses, and chickens. Sheep and rabbits are indifferent to atropine presence in food because they synthesize the atropine esterase enzyme. The progressive atropine poisoning in pigs leads to a reduction of feed intake and growth, gastrointestinal motility and secretory activity, extreme mouth dryness, increased respiration and cardiac rate, pupil dilation, etc. Clinical symptoms are partly similar among different species. Toxic effects from Datura alkaloids presence in feeds showed possible variability of alkaloids content tolerated by pigs. In our recent trials, the threshold limit in pigs (20-60 kg live weight) was 1.5 mg alkaloids/kg of feed (1.21 mg alkaloids/kg l.w.75).