Using fungi to search for medical drugs. sciencedaily.com. November 26, 2019. Summary: An enormous library of products derived from more than 10,000 fungi could help us find new drugs. Researchers have set up this library and screened it for biologically active compounds. The researchers identified various known compounds, among which the cholesterol lowering drug lovastatin. […]

New study explains the molecular mechanism for the therapeutic effects of cilantro. sciencedaily.com. July 22, 2019. Herbs, including cilantro, have long been used as folk remedies. Summary: Herbs, including cilantro, have a long history of use as folk medicine anticonvulsants. Until now, many of the underlying mechanisms of how the herbs worked remained unknown. In […]

Ancient ritual bundle contained multiple psychotropic plants. eurekalert.org. May 06, 2019. A thousand years ago, Native Americans in South America used multiple psychotropic plants — possibly simultaneously — to induce hallucinations and altered consciousness, according to an international team of anthropologists. Yagué o ayahuasca (Sertox) The researchers found a ritual bundle in the Cueva del […]

Native California medicinal plant may hold promise for treating Alzheimer’s. sciencedaily.com. February 20, 2019. Salk scientists identify possible healing compound in Yerba santa. Summary: The medicinal powers of aspirin, digitalis, and the anti-malarial artemisinin all come from plants. A discovery of a potent neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory chemical in a native California shrub may lead to […]

Herbal treatment for anxiety: Is it effective? .mayoclinic.org. January 28, 2019. Is there an effective herbal treatment for anxiety? Answer From Brent A. Bauer, M.D. Yuyos variados (Sertox) Several herbal remedies have been studied as a treatment for anxiety, but more research is needed to understand the risks and benefits. Here’s what we know — […]

Lerda D (2017) The Effects of Tartrazine in Allium Cepa L. J Food Nutr 3: 1-5.Abstract: The effect of tartrazine on Allium cepa L. at concentrations of 0.1 , 1, 3 and 5 ng/ml-1 were studied. Analysis focused on root growth, frequency of mitosis in a meristematic zone, and chromosomal aberrations. It was observed that […]

A Towering, Toxic Plant That Causes Burns and Blindness Has Appeared in Virginia. By Brigit Katz. smithsonianmag.com. June 19, 2018. The giant hogweed, an invasive species, is more typically seen in the Northeast. The giant hogweed is an impressive-looking plant. It can grow up to 14 feet tall, with huge leaves and white flowers that […]

Pepper plants sop up personal care product antibiotics. sciencedaily.com. April 11, 2018. Summary: It sometimes can be hard to find toothpastes, soaps and other toiletries without antibiotics. Their popularity has caused an increase in environmental levels of antimicrobial substances, such as triclocarban (TCC), which end up in the water and soil used to grow crops. […]

What killed the dinosaurs? Toxic plant theory throws doubt on killer asteroid. By Sebastían Kettley. express.co.uk. April 06, 2018. THE dinosaurs were wiped out by a monstrous killer asteroid 65 million years ago, scientists around the world have widely accepted. But a team of researchers have now presented a brand new theory which paints toxic […]

Chemicals in lavender and tea tree oil appear to be hormone disruptors. eurekalert.org. March 17, 2018. A new study lends further evidence to a suspected link between abnormal breast growth in young boys–called prepubertal gynecomastia–and regular exposure to lavender or tea tree oil, by finding that key chemicals in these common plant-derived oils act as […]

Wild ‘Death Cap’ Mushroom Seriously Sickens 14 in California. By Margaret Farley Steele. medlineplus.gov. June 01, 2017. Foraging by novices tied to 3 people needing liver transplants and permanent brain damage in a child.A bumper crop of deadly wild "death cap" mushrooms in northern California is likely to blame for the poisonings of 14 people […]

Indian children died after ‘eating lychees on empty stomach’. bbcnews. February 01, 2017.S and Indian scientists say a mystery illness that killed more than 100 children a year in northern India was caused by eating lychees on an empty stomach.For more than two decades, apparently healthy children in a region of Bihar suffered sudden seizures […]

Toxicological trivia from December 02, 2016: Senecio  is a genus of the daisy family (Asteraceae) that includes ragworts and groundsels. The scientific Latin genus name, Senecio, means "old man."Despite the separation of many species into other genera, the genus still contains c. 1250 species and is one of the largest genera of flowering plants. The genus […]

Toxicological trivia from November 26, 2016: Jaborosa is a genus of flowering plants in the family Solanaceae, the nightshades. There are about 23 species,all native to South America, where they are distributed from Peru to Patagonia. Most occur in the Andes. Most can be found in Argentina and ten are endemic to the country.Jaborosa integrifolia […]

Toxicological trivia from November 18, 2016: Ruellia tuberosa, also known as minnieroot,fever root, snapdragon root and sheep potato is a species of flowering plant in the Acanthaceae family. Its native range is in Central America but presently it has become naturalized in many countries of tropical South and Southeast Asia. Some butterfly species, like the […]

Toxicological trivia from November 12, 2016: Festuca (fescue) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the grass family, Poaceae (subfamily Pooideae). They are evergreen or herbaceous perennial tufted grasses with a height range of 10–200 cm (4–79 in) and a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on every continent except Antarctica. Some fescues are used as ornamental […]

Mouse study shows antibody can soothe raging, nerve-driven poison ivy itch.sciencedaily.com. November 07, 2016. Summary: Scientists have developed a strategy to stop the uncontrollable itch caused by urushiol, the oily sap common to poison ivy, poison sumac, poison oak and even mango trees. The team found that by blocking an immune system protein in the […]

Toxicological trivia from November 04, 2016: Kava or kava-kava (Piper methysticum: Latin "pepper" + Latinized Greek "intoxicating") is a crop of the western Pacific. The roots of the plant are used to produce a drink with sedative, anesthetic, euphoriant, and entheogenic properties. Kava is consumed throughout the Pacific Ocean cultures of Polynesia, including Hawaii, Vanuatu, […]

Toxicological trivia from October 21, 2016: Tecoma stans is a species of flowering perennial shrub in the trumpet vine family, Bignoniaceae, that is native to the Americas.  Tecoma stans is the official flower of the United States Virgin Islands and the floral emblem of the Bahamas.Yellow trumpetbush is an attractive plant that is cultivated as […]

Rockcress for heavy-metal clean up. sciencedaily.com. October 14, 2016. Summary: Rockcress of the Arabidopsis halleri species is known to possess the capability of settling on hostile, heavy metal-contaminated soil. It stores extraordinary high concentrations of certain toxic heavy metals in its leaves: a rare property. Researchers have analyzed approx. 2,000 specimens of this species from […]

Toxicological trivia from October 16, 2016: Asclepias curassavica, commonly known as tropical milkweed, is a flowering plant species of the milkweed genus, Asclepias. It is native to the American tropics and has a pantropical distribution as an introduced species. Other common names include bloodflower or blood flower, cotton bush, hierba de la cucaracha, Mexican butterfly […]