Asphodelus microcarpus S a 1 z m. et V i v i. belongs to the family Liliaceae which is one of the families rich in medicinal plants. It includes several genera which were reported (W a t t and B r e y e r-B r a n d w i j k , 1962) as remedies in folk medicine; their value in this respect has been attributed to various constituents (alkaloids, anthraquinones, glycosides. .. etc.
Different procedures were carried out for the preparation and separation of the total alkaloids of Lolium temulentum. Loline has been identified as the major pyrrolizidine alkaloid of the seeds. The toxicity of the alcoholic extract, total alkaloids and loline are discussed.Lolium temulentum (L. cuneatum) represents one of the five principal species of the genus Lolium (Gramineae) occurring in Egypt (1).L. temulentum L. is notable for its widespread prevalence as a contaminant of the wheat crop cultivated in various agricultural localities in the Delta and Upper Egypt. It is commonly known by the Arabic names "zawan"in Egypt (analogous to dernel and invraie in other countries). The importance of this work arose from a number of publications reporting the occurrence of cases of human poisoning caused by the ingestion of bread and porridge made from flour of wheat grains heavily contaminated with the seeds of L. temultentum (2-4). The chief toxic manifestations, which resemble those of alcoholic inebriation, were comprised of headache, dizziness, vertigo, mental confusion, difficulty in speech, inability to walk, vomiting, fall of body temperature and generalized shivering. Severe and occasional fatal poisoning accounted for only 1% of 300 reported cases of intoxication(5), and was characterized by gradually progressive CNS depression leading to coma for several days before death by respiratory failure.The toxic effects of L. temulentum seeds were ascribed to the presence of a mixture of alkaloidal constituents, namely loline, lolinine, lolinidine, temuline and temulentine (4,6-8). The contents of the alkaloids in the seeds displayed a wide range of variability largely determined by the localities of the weed growth.Pharmaceutical Biology Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by UB Kiel on 12/26/14For personal use only.
An intravenous glucose tolerance test was carried out in i i patients with chronic manganese poisoning. Prolonged reactionary hypoglycaemia was observed. The underlying mechanism is discussed. It may be due to a disturbance of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis.In seven of these patients total serum proteins were estimated and were separated electrophoretically. The albumin: globulin ratios were lower in patients than in controls. There were significant reductions in serum albumin concentrations and increases in concentrations of cxl and ,B globulins.Since the early discovery of chronic manganese poisoning among workers manufacturing chlorine gas in France using manganese ore (Couper, I837), many other reports from Europe, North Africa,
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