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Plants and Mushrooms

Identification of bioactive compounds from fungi using zebrafish embryogenesis as read-out, study

30/11/2019

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. […]


Cilantro leaf harbors a potent potassium channel–activating anticonvulsant, study

23/07/2019

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 […]


A thousand years ago, Native Americans in South America used multiple psychotropic plants

06/05/2019

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 […]


A potent neuroprotective chemical in Eriodictyon californicum may be usefull for Alzheimer

22/02/2019

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 […]




Be careful with the giant hogweed or Heracleum mantegazzianum, an invasive species in US

21/06/2018

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 […]


Study about the uptake of Triclocarban by Jalapeno Pepper Plants

14/04/2018

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. […]



Lavender oil and tea tree oil pose potential environmental health concerns

18/03/2018

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 […]


Grey mangrove trees, Avicennia marina, filter heavy metals out of the surrounding soil and water

07/08/2017

Mangroves vital for environmental decontamination. sciencedaily.com. August 03, 2017. Mangrove trees, particularly their leaf litter, filter copper out of soil and water in Indonesia.Grey mangrove trees, Avicennia marina, filter heavy metals out of the surrounding soil and water. A new study from Indonesia has found that their leaf litter accumulates the most copper, followed by […]



Illness that killed many children in Bihar, India was caused by eating lychees on an empty stomach

04/02/2017

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 […]


Trivia # 361: senecio I

02/12/2016

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 […]


New transgenic grass species that can neutralize and eradicate RDX

26/11/2016

New grasses neutralize toxic pollution from bombs, explosives, and munitions.eurekalert.org. November 22, 2016. On military live fire training ranges, troops practice firing artillery shells, drop bombs on old tanks or derelict buildings and test the capacity of new weapons. But those explosives and munitions leave behind toxic compounds that have contaminated millions of acres of U.S. […]


Trivia # 360: Jaborosa

26/11/2016

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 […]


Trivia # 359: Ruellia tuberosa

18/11/2016

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 […]


Trivia # 358: Festuca

12/11/2016

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 […]


Why poison ivy is so itchy and how researchs are working to quell the rash, study

09/11/2016

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 […]


Trivia # 357: kava

04/11/2016

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, […]


Trivia # 356: Tecoma stans

21/10/2016

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 […]


Variability in plant nutrients reduces insect herbivore performance, study

17/10/2016

Why insect pests love monocultures, and how plant diversity could change that.sciencedaily.com. October 12, 2016. Summary:Left to its own defenses, a farm field growing a variety of plants tends to attract fewer insect pests than a field growing just one type of crop. While scientists and farmers have noted that difference for years, the reasons […]


Rockcress of the Arabidopsis halleri species for heavy-metal clean up, study

16/10/2016

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 […]


Trivia # 355: Asclepias curassavica

16/10/2016

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 […]


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