BOOK REVIEW pubs.acs.org/jnp
Review of Medical Toxicology of Natural Substances. Foods, Fungi, Medicinal Herbs, Plants and Venomous Animals Medical Toxicology of Natural Substances. Fungi, Medicinal Herbs, Plants and Venomous Animals. By D. G. Barceloux (UCLA). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: Hoboken, NJ, USA. 2008. xxi þ1157 pp. 22 28.5 cm. $195.00. ISBN 978-0471-72761-3.
cycad seeds, and nutmeg. Section 3 provides an overview of the microbial toxins. Bacterial toxins are discussed in 12 chapters covering prominent bacterial food contaminants: Bacillus cereus, Clostridium botulinum/perfringes, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhi, Shigella species, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus spp., Vibrio species, and Yersenia enterocolitica. Chapters 25-27 encompass other microbial toxins such as cyanobacterial, GI protozoan, and GI viral toxins. Throughout the chapters, elaborate discussions of the physicochemical properties of the toxin, mechanism of action, and clinical course and complications are clearly provided. The final section of part 1 describes toxicities coupled to seafood consumption. The author devotes nine chapters to the discussion of various types of seafood poisoning: amnesic, azaspiracid, and neurotoxic shellfish, ciguatera, scambroid, and puffer fish, and red whelk and associated tetramine toxicity. In a similar fashion, the remaining three parts of the book flow in a well-developed structure discussing individual examples of fungal toxins (part 2), medicinal herbs and essential oils (part 3), toxic plants (part 4), and venomous animals (part 5). The subdivision of each part into sections further enhances the depth of coverage of every discussed group. Each chapter can be regarded as an individual reference for the covered topic with an extended up-to-date reference list for supplementary reading. Overall, this book would be a useful addition to the libraries of medical students, graduate students in pharmacology and toxicology, and natural products scientists. Furthermore, because of its “multidisciplinary evidence-based approach”, the book presents an easy-to-follow and valuable resource for clinical toxicologists and analytical chemists, as well as those involved in the regulation of toxic substance exposure. It is a superb resource for a natural products clinical toxicology course. Indeed, it bridges the gap between the research literature and clinical experience associated with the toxicity of natural substances.
This book provides an intricate overview of the toxicological actions of a wide array of natural substances. The book is divided into five main parts, and each part addresses the clinical toxicity of one class of natural substances. The classification is primarily based on the source of the toxic substance, rather than the type of clinical toxicity inflicted: food-borne and microbial toxins, fungal toxins, medicinal herbs and essential oils, toxic plants, and venomous animals. Each part is further subdivided into chapters, with each chapter discussing in detail the toxicity of an individual toxin. The book is in hardcover, with high-quality figures, tables, and colored photographs. The first part of the book focuses on food-borne and microbial toxins. It is subdivided into four sections: Chemical Contamination and Additives, Staples and Spices, Microbes, and Seafood. Section 1 discusses chemical contamination and additives in two chapters. The first chapter discusses well-known human illness eruptions associated with food contamination. Specific prominent examples are covered in individual sections including poisoning cases of Yusho, toxic oil syndrome, epidemic dropsy, and eosinophilia-myalgia linked to the consumption of contaminated L-tryptophan products. For each discussed case, the history, exposure, food processing, dose and clinical responses, diagnostic testing, and treatment procedures are described. Controversial issues regarding toxicity association are also highlighted. The focal points of the second chapter are food additives and sensitivities. The chapter commences with a brief history of the various acts and laws that regulate and standardize the use of food additives. A list of banned food additives and their associated toxicity is nicely summarized. Various examples of food additives ranging from taste enhancers, antioxidants, preservatives, stabilizers, emulsifiers, and coloring agents then follow. The author provides a succinct description of each type of additive and discusses specific examples of every class, describing in detail the sensitivity or adverse effect associated with its consumption. The chapter concludes with a description of diagnostic tests for sensitivity to food additives and the adopted management and treatment procedures. The second section of food-borne contaminants, dedicated to staples and spices, is divided into 10 chapters, with each chapter describing in detail the toxicity of one staple food or commonly used spice. A brief history and botanical description of the food is first provided, followed by the chemical composition, principal toxins, and proposed mechanism of toxicity, then clinical and dose responses, diagnostic testing, and finally treatment measures. A variety of foods and spices is covered in this section, including cinnamon, cyanogenic foods, Copyright r 2011 American Chemical Society and American Society of Pharmacognosy
Abir T. El-Alfy Chicago State University Chicago, Illinois
10.1021/np2001539 10.1021/np2001539
Published: August 17, 2011 2027
dx.doi.org/10.1021/np2001539 | J. Nat. Prod. 2011, 74, 2027–2027
