ABSTRACT
Toxicity tests, in accordance with the Minimal Data Requirements (Tier 1) of the OECD Guidelines for Pre-Market Chemicals, were conducted on a standard extract (Endod-S) from the unripe berries of Phytolacca dodecandra, a potent botanical molluscicide of potential importance in the control of schistosomiasis. In acute mammalian toxicity tests, except for the eye irritation toxicity test which indicated severe irritancy, all test results were classified as either nontoxic or slightly toxic. Eye protection is therefore recommended during berry crushing and handling of dry powders. Ecotoxicity tests indicated that Endod is no more toxic than currently recommended synthetic molluscicides; however, environmental fate and additional local ecotoxicity tests are recommended for nontarget aquatic organisms present in the endemic situations of field trials. Given these toxicological data and recognizing the need for an affordable, locally cultivated, botanical molluscicide, it is concluded that field trials of Endod in schistosomiasis control are now justifiable.
Subject(s)
Molluscacides/toxicity , Plant Extracts/toxicity , Animals , Environmental Pollutants , Female , Guinea Pigs , Lethal Dose 50 , Male , Mutagenicity Tests , Phytolacca dodecandra , Plant Extracts/chemistry , Rabbits , Rats , Rats, Inbred StrainsABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the toxicity of the butanol extract of Endod (Phytolacca dodecandra) on 4 species of aquatic animals. Groups of 10 mosquito fish (Gambusia affinis) and 8 bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) were exposed to the butanol extract of Endod in 300 ml of water at concentrations of 0.0, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.2 or 2.0 ppm. Groups of 10 tropical snails (Biomphalaria glabrata) and 10 pond snails (Physa spp) were also exposed to the crude extract in 50 ml of water at concentrations of 0.0, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.2, 2.5, 3.0, 4.0 or 5.0 ppm. Following a 24-h exposure period, the test subjects were transferred to extract-free water and observed for an additional 24 h. The number of dead animals was determined after the total 48-h concentration was plotted on logarithmic (probit) graph paper and the concentration of Endod which killed 50% of the test subjects (LC50) was determined. The butanol extract of Endod was lethal to 50% of the fish and snails at relatively low concentrations (less than 3.0 ppm). The results also indicated that fish were approximately 2 to 4 times more sensitive to Endod than snails.
Subject(s)
Fish Diseases/chemically induced , Plant Extracts/toxicity , Snails/drug effects , Animals , Biomphalaria/drug effects , Butanols , Cyprinodontiformes , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Lethal Dose 50 , Perciformes , Regression AnalysisABSTRACT
A number of methods have been used to extract molluscicidal saponins from the dried berries of Phytolacca dodecandra. The potency of the extract has been determined to depend on the release of an enzyme found only in the seed and breaking the seed is critical to the extraction process. The enzyme is inactivated by heat of alcohol. The highest potency extract is made from a cold water extraction of finely ground dried berries.
Subject(s)
Mollusca/drug effects , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Saponins/pharmacology , Animals , Esterases/metabolism , Plant Extracts/analysis , Plants/enzymologyABSTRACT
In recent years porphyrins and related materials have been tested as antitumor agents. A technique was devised to obtain dose-response curves for the sensitizer fraction that resists one day of elution by tissue culture medium--the retained fraction. We found a steep "threshold" dose response relationship that helps to explain tumor destruction without damage to normal tissues. The family of dose-response curves produced by a wide range of light exposures suggests that chlorins and porphyrins do not act by identical mechanisms. Moreover, they suggest that chlorins will prove superior in practical use.
Subject(s)
Chlorophyll/analogs & derivatives , Chlorophyllides/toxicity , Hematoporphyrins/toxicity , Light , Porphyrins/toxicity , Tumor Cells, Cultured/drug effects , Carcinoma , Cell Survival/drug effects , Cell Survival/radiation effects , Colonic Neoplasms , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation , Humans , Tumor Cells, Cultured/radiation effectsSubject(s)
Lung/analysis , Oxidants, Photochemical/toxicity , Pulmonary Alveoli/drug effects , Vitamin E/analysis , Aging , Animals , Chromatography, Gas , Female , Mass Spectrometry , Methods , RatsSubject(s)
Lung/metabolism , Vitamin E/analysis , Animals , Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry , Humans , Lung/analysisABSTRACT
Skin surface lipids were extracted from volunteers who had been ranked according to the duration of protection from mosquitoes by diethyltoluamide. These lipids were analyzed by GLC-mass spectrometry for their fatty acid contents. Correlations were found between total skin lipid content and protection time of diethyltoluamide and between certain fatty acid concentrations in the skin lipids and the protection time of diethyltoluamide.
Subject(s)
Insect Repellents , Lipids/physiology , Skin Physiological Phenomena , Administration, Topical , Aedes , Chromatography, Gas , Insect Repellents/administration & dosage , Lipids/analysis , Mass Spectrometry , Regression Analysis , Skin/analysis , Time FactorsABSTRACT
PIP: The chemical properties of crude saponins from the berries of Phytolacca dodecandra (Endod), which possesses, among other pharmacological functions, a potent spermicidal activity, were investigated. It was found that the aglycones of P. dodecandra are composed of oleanolic acid (66.2%), bayogenin (14.9%), hederogenin (8.9%), and 2-hydroxyoleanolic acid (6.5%), all of which are 28-carboxyoleanenes. P. americana, P. dioica, P. octandra, P. rivinoides, and P. esculenta are apparently composed of 28,30 dicarboxy and/or carbomethoxy oleanenes. Further analysis of the genus is required before the total absence of dicarboxylic triterpenes in P. dodecandra is established.^ieng
