3(a). The CH2 stretch is seen at 2846 cm−1 and 2924 cm−1, C C at 1645 cm−1, and CH3 stretching at 1462 cm−1, indicating the presence of oleic acid on nanoparticles surface.

Successful amide formation between amine groups in CSO and the carboxylic group of silane was confirmed by the appearance of characteristic bands such as OH group at 3352 cm−1, C O (secondary amide formation) at 1635 cm−1 and C O C at 1095 cm−1, for CSO in Fig. 3(b) [8], [22], [23] and [35]. PPMS magnetometer results showed magnetization properties as a function of applied field at 300 K obtained for dry powders of iron oxide nanoparticles Z-VAD-FMK solubility dmso and CSO coated iron oxide nanoparticles. The results indicate super-paramagnetic behaviour of synthesized nanoparticles, that is, net magnetization of the particles in the absence of an external magnetic field was found to be zero [6]. Fig. 4 shows that the saturation magnetization of the CSO coated sample (12 emu per g) is lower than that of the iron nanoparticles (32 emu per g). Zeta potential data in Fig. 5(a) shows the zeta potential of INPs coated with silane COOH. The particles consist of zeta potential −1.9, −36.5 and −51 mV at pH 3, 7 and 9 respectively, which may be attributed to negative charge on surface of Etoposide nanoparticles due to the presence of COOH group of oleic acid and carboxylic silane surface coating.

Zeta potential data in Fig. 5(b) indicates that CSO-INPs were positively charged with a surface potential greater than +37 mV at pH 3. This confirms the presence

of amino groups on the nanoparticle surface in their protonated form, and thus establishing the presence of chitosan oligosaccharide on the particle surface. Results indicate that with an increase of pH, the surface charge of the particle decreased which was probably due to the deprotonation tendency of the surface exposed amino groups at higher values of pH [22]. Fig. 5(b) also Methocarbamol shows that particles possess positive zeta potential of +11 mV at pH 7, which corresponds to the pH of natural water. However, at pH 9, particles show a negative zeta potential of −2.8 mV. These results confirm that the nanoparticles have sufficient colloidal stability which is necessary for biological and environmental applications [8]. MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium) assay for viability of various cell lines was performed. The assay is based on reduction of soluble yellow tetrazolium into insoluble purple formazan crystals by mitochondrial succinate dehydrogenase of viable cell. Therefore, the rate of formazan crystal formation is directly proportional to number of viable cells which is measured in terms of absorbance [25]. The results in Fig. 6 clearly indicate that the toxic effect of CSO-INPs on A549 and HeLa cells were moderate as compared to bare INPs treatment.

Of the American species cultivated in Brazil, wines made from Bordô and Isabel grapes are by far the most investigated ( Nixdorf & Hermosín-Gutiérrez, 2010). With the purpose of contributing to the enrichment of the scientific literature on wines from American cultivars, and of making up for the lack of studies related to these grapes, the major aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the sensory attributes and the physicochemical properties of wines from two innovative winemaking processes in order to compare them with a traditional treatment. The wines produced

using the novel treatments were expected to present greater acceptance as compared to commercial wines. Secondly, it was expected that the chemical properties of these wines would be in accordance with PARP activity the Brazilian legislation, and finally that the specific chemical properties would be related to their respective sensory attributes. The grapes were harvested in the city of Jales (20° 16′ 6″ South and 50° 32′ 56″ West), located in the northwest region of the State of São Paulo, Brazil. Six different red wines were produced and analyzed: Traditional Bordô wine (TB), Traditional Isabel wine (TI), Pre-dried Bordô wine (PDB), Pre-dried Isabel wine (PDI), Static

pomace Bordô wine (SPB) and Static pomace Isabel wine (SPI). The standard procedure for the production of the red wines consisted of de-stemming followed by manual crushing of the grapes. The must and pomace were placed in 10 L fermentation flasks, and a portion of the must removed for determination of the soluble solids in order to calculate STAT inhibitor the need for chaptalization. The Bordô and Isabel grapes presented 19.25 and 19.00°Brix, respectively, at the beginning of the winemaking processes. Sulfur dioxide was added to the must by the addition of 15 g of potassium metabisulfite per 100 kg

of grapes, and alcoholic fermentation was induced by inoculation with active Org 27569 dry Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the proportion of 20 g of yeast per 100 L of must. The must was macerated for 7 days, pumping twice a day, and subsequently dejuiced and chaptalized to 11°GL. After chaptalization, the must was properly racked three times at 10 day intervals, thus allowing for the spontaneous occurrence of the malolactic fermentation. The degree of malolactic fermentation was controlled by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC), using 20 mL of 50% acetic acid and 50 mL of a solution containing 1 g of bromophenol blue per L of butanol as the mobile phase (Ribéreau-Gayon, Paynaud, Sudrad, & Ribéreau-Gayon, 1982). Between the second and third rackings, the wines were moved to a refrigerated ambient for 10 days in order to stabilize the tartrate. The wines were then bottled in 750 mL glass bottles and stabilized for 90 days. The traditional wines followed the standard aforementioned process.

In spite of general similarities of this study with other previous studies, it is necessary to underline differences. Most previous reports were oriented to the analysis of consequences or impact of valve calcification on clinical outcomes such as morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular origin 17 and 18. However, regarding valve calcification process, they are cross-sectional analyses on prevalent HD or PD

populations where an adequate analysis of risk factors for valve calcification was lacking; this is particularly important for biochemical data because it was obtained late, just at the time Cabozantinib of valve calcification detection (19). We did not find correlation of presence or magnitude of calcifications between mitral and aortic valves, which suggests different mechanism and risk factors for

its development. The aortic valve was more frequently affected than the mitral valve, which has been previously noted 5 and 20, but no special considerations were made in those reports. On the other hand, in the mitral valve, calcification is associated with certain traditional risk factors and biochemical changes, as discussed below. As expected, traditional cardiovascular risk factors such as age and diabetes were found to be risk factors for MVC in the univariate logistic regression analysis. Inflammation represented by increased levels of hs-CRP selleck chemicals llc was also significant. Patients who developed MVC had an incremental trend of hs-CRP serum concentration from initial to final stage,

emphasizing the role of inflammation in the calcification process. This is in line with what has previously been reported 21 and 22. Mineral metabolism-related variables were also important; serum phosphorus increased between the first and last evaluation. In most of the patients studied, Ketotifen iPTH was <150 pg/mL, the suggested minimal value in clinical practice guidelines (150–300 pg/mL) (23). Although patients with MVC were not outside the range (median: 208 pg/mL), they differed with non-VC, showing higher values of iPTH and a trend to increase iPTH levels from baseline to final evaluation. Previous studies mentioned the role of mineral environment in calcification process where hyperphosphatemia seems to be particularly important 24 and 25. Our data are congruent with that concept (median: 5.2 mg/dL). Whether iPTH has a role in calcification is a matter of discussion. In this study, iPTH remained essentially low, and the small increment observed may be secondary to increment in serum phosphorus concentration more than a direct effect on calcification. OPG levels at baseline and final evaluation were significant risk factors for MVC. The same picture has been found in vascular calcification (26). Experimental studies have demonstrated the OPG inhibitory effect on calcification 27 and 28; therefore, high OPG levels as a risk factor for MVC may sound contradictory.

01°C year−1). In the Baltic Sea, despite some regional differences, there has been a positive trend in the yearly mean SST with an average increase of 0.8°C in 15 years (1998–2004) (Siegel et al. 2006). There are many estimates (due to varying methods and periods of calculation) of the global average rate of water level rise

in the 20th century derived from tide-gauge records: for example, 1.7±0.5 mm year−1 (Bates et al. 2008 (eds.)), 1.61±0.19 mm year−1 (Wöppelmann et al. 2009) and 1.59±0.09 mm year−1 (Collilieux & Wöppelmann 2011). The estimated eustatic sea level rise in the North Sea was 1.3 mm year−1 during the last century (Christiansen et RO4929097 nmr al. 2001). The same average rate of mean water level rise (1.5±0.5 mm year−1) was estimated for the Finnish coast of the Baltic Sea (Johansson et al. 2004). The rise in sea level was recorded at many tide gauges along Baltic Sea coasts at the end of the 20th century (Kalas 1993, Stigge 1993, Fenger et al. 2001, Ekman 2003, Kahma et al. 2003, Dailidienė et al. 2006, Suursaar et al. 2006). The average sea level rise for the period 1965–2001 Compound Library mouse for the German North Sea coast was 1.88–1.95 mm

year−1, and for the German Baltic Sea coast it was 1.14 mm year−1 (Jensen & Mudersbach 2004). The regional analysis of long-term variations in water level is directly connected to the problems concerning the erosion of coasts, inundation of land, security of hydro-engineering equipment, development of port infrastructure and seaside towns, safety of waterfront installations and the local population, recreation, and ecosystem stability. The Baltic coastal zone is being subjected to intense human pressure;

it therefore plays a key role as an interface for trade, development of municipal activities, industry, shipping, energy generation, agriculture, fishery and tourism (Schernewski & Schiewer 2002). Climate changes should be considered when formulating strategies of sustainable development in Baltic Sea coastal areas. Historically, the ecosystems of the Baltic lagoons studied here are rather young (≈4 Thymidine kinase 000 years old); they are sensitive to eutrophication and are subject to intense anthropogenic pressure. Lagoons provide essential buffering and filtering functions. Being both links and mediators between terrestrial ecosystems and the open sea (Schiewer 2002), coastal lagoons could be very vulnerable to the direct impacts of climate change. The aim of this research was to study and compare trends in sea level and water temperature changes from the beginning of the last climatic period (1960s) to the present for three lagoons located along the southern and south-eastern shores of the Baltic Sea: the Darss-Zingst Bodden Chain (Germany), the Vistula Lagoon (Poland–Russia), and the Curonian Lagoon (Lithuania–Russia) (Figure 1).

HER2 expression was detected using 1:300 polyclonal antibody A0485 (DakoCytomation, Glostrup, Denmark) overnight at 4 °C. Positive and negative controls were run together with

the test sample. Using the 2007 ASCO/CAP criteria, HER2 expression was scored as follows: 0 = no staining; 1+ = weak, incomplete membrane staining in >10% of tumor cells; 2+ = weak to moderately complete membrane staining in >10% of tumor cells; 3+ = strong, complete membrane Afatinib staining in >30% of tumor cells [24], [25] and [26]. In the 2013 ASCO/CAP scoring criteria, IHC 3+ = complete, intense staining of >10% of tumor cells; IHC 2+ = circumferential, incomplete and/or weak/moderate membrane staining in >10% of tumor cells or complete and circumferential intense Epigenetic signaling pathway inhibitor membrane staining in ≤10% of tumor cells; IHC 1+ = faint/barely perceptible incomplete membrane staining in >10% of tumor cells; IHC 0 = no staining or incomplete and faint/barely perceptible membrane staining in ≤10% of tumor cells [24]. We used the 2007 guidelines to evaluate HER2 IHC. Two-color FISH was performed on 2-μm thick sections from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections from all 175 cases. Before hybridization, sections were deparaffinized, dehydrated in 100% ethanol, and air-dried. Commercially available, locus-specific HER2 probe (190-kb SpectrumOrange directly

labeled fluorescent DNA probe) and CEP17 probe (5.4-kb Spectrum Green directly labeled fluorescent DNA) were used according to the manufacturer’s recommendations (Jinpujia, Beijing, China). We scored 30 nuclei per sample, and recorded the number of HER2 (red) and CEP17 (green) signals according to the 2007 ASCO/CAP criteria. Gene amplification was indicated when the HER2/CEP17 ratio > 2.2; amplification was equivocal when 1.8 ≤ HER2/CEP17 ratio ≤ 2.2, and negative when HER2/CEP17 ratio < 1.8 Calpain [24], [25] and [26]. The 2013 ASCO/CAP criteria uses HER2/CEP17 ratio ≥ 2.0 (Fig. 1a and b) or HER2/CEP17 ratio < 2.0 but average HER2 copy number ≥ 6.0 signals/cell (Fig. 1c) to indicate the mean HER2 amplification for 20 cells. According to the 2013 guidelines,

HER2/CEP17 ratio < 2.0 and average HER2 copy number ≥ 4.0 and <6 signals/cell indicated equivocal amplification (Fig. 1e and f); HER2/CEP17 ratio < 2.0 and average HER2 copy number < 4 signals/cell indicated negative amplification (Fig. 1d) [24]. Polysomy 17 was defined as >1.86 CEP17 signals per nucleus [27], [28], [29], [30] and [31]. A nonparametric chi-square test was used for testing associations between variables and p values < 05 were considered statistically significant. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software (v17.0; SPPS Inc., Chicago, IL). All 175 patients were women, the age range was 31–78 years (mean 53 years), and all patients had invasive breast carcinoma. More than half of the cases were IHC 2+ (95 cases, 54.3%). The remaining cases included 17 IHC 0 or IHC 1+ cases (9.7%), and 63 IHC 3+ cases (36.0%).

Age, gender, and ambulatory status, defined as 1=GMFCS levels I to III and 0=GMFCS levels IV to V, were adjusted for in each analysis. The following model was used for all analyses: block 1: age, gender, ambulatory status; block 2: anthropometric measure. Each anthropometric measure was entered in a separate analysis to avoid multicollinearity. When systolic blood see more pressure or diastolic blood pressure was the dependent variable of interest, the

analysis was additionally adjusted for self-reported taking of antihypertensive medication (coded as 1 if yes or 0 if no). When TC, HDL-C, LDL-C, or TC/HDL-C ratio was the dependent variable, additional adjustment was made for self-reported taking of cholesterol medication (coded as 1 if yes or 0 if no). To examine whether WC, WHR, or WHtR were associated with cardiometabolic risk factors independent of BMI, follow-up analyses were conducted between each cardiometabolic risk factor and WC, WHtR, and WHR, additionally adjusting for BMI in block

1. Variance inflation factors <5 revealed no issue with collinearity. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was conducted to compare the anthropometric measures at predicting the presence of individual cardiometabolic risk factors (hypertensive blood pressure, hypercholesterolemia, low HDL-C, high LDL-C, hypertriglyceridemia, hyperglycemia, high HOMA-IR index, high-risk CRP) and the presence of ≥2 risk factors. An area under the ROC curve of >.90 is considered Dabrafenib purchase excellent; .80 to .90 is considered good; and .70 to .80 is considered fair. All analyses were performed using Analyse-it for Microsoft Excel (version 2.20)c and IBM SPSS Statistics (version 19).d Statistical significance was set at P<.05. The demographic and diagnostic distribution of participants is presented in table 1. A value for CRP and insulin was missing for 1 nonambulatory person and a value for plasma glucose was missing for 1 ambulatory

person, as a result of processing errors. One ambulatory person reported a prediagnosis of type 1 diabetes mellitus. This person was removed from all analyses of blood biomarkers of glucose metabolism (ie, plasma glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR index) and the MetS. Hip circumference was not obtained from 2 nonambulatory adults because of significant contractures. Participants’ anthropometric measures Sulfite dehydrogenase and cardiometabolic outcomes are presented in table 1. Within the study cohort, BMI ranged from 12.3 to 36.8kg/m2, WC ranged from 64 to 126.5cm, WHR ranged from 0.68 to 1.11, and WHtR ranged from .36 to .81. Four participants (7.3%) were obese according to BMI cutoffs. The prevalence of central obesity was 36.4% (table 2). A significant difference between ambulatory and nonambulatory adults was observed for WHR (P<.05), HDL-C (P<.01), and TC/HDL-C ratio (P<.05). There were no other between-group differences. Pearson’s partial correlations revealed that the GMFCS was associated with hip circumference (r=−.356; P<.

Although on the surface, it might simply occur as a passive way of registering experience, there is evidence that this strategy can significantly facilitate the regulation of negative emotions. Neuroscientific studies have shown GSK269962 concentration that the labeling of affective states activates a top-down regulatory mechanism in which limbic activity is inhibited through activation of prefrontal areas of the brain and that this effect is increased in individuals with high levels of dispositional mindfulness (Creswell, Way, Eisenberger, & Lieberman, 2007). The current

results point towards the possibility that the verbal labeling of experience and the conscious noting and recognizing of mental and bodily events that comes with it may be at the heart of the Obeticholic Acid mw decentering mechanisms through which mindfulness is assumed to exert its effects (Teasdale, 1999). At what levels of dispositional mindfulness do such protective effects become evident? Probing the interaction between neuroticism and mindfulness, we found that the significance of the relation between neuroticism and current depressive symptoms turned at an FFMQ sumscore

of 145.5, which within our sample was located at the 90th percentile of the distribution. The negative effects of neuroticism thus seem to become offset only at relatively high levels of dispositional mindfulness, a finding that may also speak to why the effects observed here were relatively small. Interestingly, the level at which the moderating effect of mindfulness occurred is almost identical to the mean mindfulness score previous validation research has reported for longterm meditators (Baer et al., 2008) suggesting that in order to reach levels of mindfulness that have protective effects most individuals would indeed have to engage in sustained training of meditation. The current research is relevant to treating mafosfamide the emotional disorders. It is well known that emotional disorders share common symptoms and variance (Krueger, 1999), and this common variance strongly overlaps with neuroticism (Griffith et al., 2010). It has been suggested that the mental skills reflected by the construct of mindfulness may help to counter global

vulnerabilities for emotional disorders (Williams, 2008). Protocol-driven interventions that focus on core emotional symptoms have emerged and are currently being studied and used in clinical settings (e.g. Allen, McHugh, & Barlow, 2008), and the inclusion of mindfulness training in these protocols has the potential to further enhance treatment outcome. The current findings support the therapeutic potential of mindfulness. They suggest that high levels of dispositional mindfulness can protect against the negative effects of neuroticism. The ability to describe and label inner experience is likely to be a particularly important skill in this context. Further research will have to demonstrate similar effects for negative emotional outcomes other than depression.

Similar coefficient values within a principal component indicate that the behavioral indicators exhibited a similar covariation. The sickness indicators

(change in weight between Day 0 and 2, change in weight Copanlisib cost between Day 2 and 5, locomotor activity and rearing) received the most extreme coefficients in principal component 1. The nearly opposite coefficients of both weight changes correspond to the opposite patterns of weight change prior and post Day 2 in BCG-treated mice. On the other hand, the similar coefficients received by the horizontal locomotor activity and rearing are consistent with the similar impact of BCG-treatment on both activity indicators at Day 6. The coefficients in principal components 2 and 3 distinguished sucrose preference Doxorubicin molecular weight from the other two depression-like indicators of immobility. The results from PCA supplement

those from cluster analysis because meanwhile cluster analysis identifies groups of variables (mice or behavioral indicators) alike (based on indicators or mice, respectively), PCA is a process for identifying combination of the original variables (mice or behavioral indicators) that represent information comparable to the original variables. The outcome from cluster analysis is the grouping of the original variables based on a criterion (e.g. variation between versus within clusters) meanwhile the outcomes from PCA are linear indices of the original variables. The coefficients of the variables in the indices offer insights into the relationship between the original variables and this information is expected to be consistent or complementary to the relationships identified in the cluster analysis. The PCA coefficients received by the behavioral indicators depicted in Fig. 5 are consistent with the clustering of indicators presented in Fig. 3. The pair of indicators locomotor activity and rearing and the Afatinib supplier pair of indicators tail suspension test and sucrose preference test appear closer to each other. The three dimensions of the PCA reported offer additional information

to the one dimension of the lengths of the cluster tree branches. For example, meanwhile the weight change between Day 0 and Day 2 and the weight change between Day 2 and Day 5 received coefficients of similar magnitude for principal components 1 and 3, the magnitudes differ for principal component 2. Another complementary insight from the consideration of three principal components relative to cluster analysis is the characterization of the relationship between the three depression-like indicators. Sucrose preference received coefficients of similar magnitude to tail suspension and forced swim immobility for principal components 1 and 2 and different for principal component 3. This evaluation of the changes in the relationship between the coefficients across principal components further confirms the supplementary information provided by the three dimensions considered.

Synaesthetes’ drawings in response to sounds showed systematic trends between auditory pitch and synaesthetic experience, which follow the same rules as the implicit cross-modal mappings in non-synaesthetes. These patterns show up as significant correlations between increasing pitch and increase in brightness, reduction in size, and elevation in spatial location. The experimental results show that the visual experience of coloured shapes in specific spatial locations affects the behavioural performance of synaesthetes on both colour and shape judgements,

despite selleck products it being irrelevant to the task.3 This is consistent with previous reports on other forms of synaesthesia that synaesthetes are unable to effectively suppress their unusual experiences once they perceive the inducing stimuli (e.g., grapheme–colour synaesthesia: Mattingley et al., 2001; sound–colour synaesthesia: Ward et al., 2006). Although it was not as strong as these overall

effects, we also observed modulations by feature-based attention. Specifically, in Experiment 1, when synaesthetes attended Trametinib concentration to colour, a mismatch between the displayed colour and the synaesthetic colour caused a stronger congruency effect than a mismatch of shape, and vice versa when they attended to shape. Although this effect was not strong enough to survive the three-way interaction, it was evident in both planned comparisons Galeterone (based on our a priori prediction) and in the alternative exploratory analyses (see Supplementary Materials). These results suggest

that after synaesthetic percepts of coloured objects are elicited, feature-based attention acts on these objects to select and prioritise relevant features, which, in turn, modulates their behavioural impact. These congruency effects suggest both colour and non-colour features can be integral components of the unusual experience and should be considered in theories for synaesthesia. In addition, we need further studies to examine the mechanisms that underlie these phenomena. The perceptual characteristics and neural underpinnings of synaesthetic colour have been extensively studied, which point the way for future research on non-colour synaesthetic features. At the psychophysical level, the majority of evidence suggests that synaesthetic colour does not ‘behave’ like real colour (e.g., it shows no chromatic adaptation: Hong and Blake, 2008; it shows no pre-attentive pop-out: Ward et al., 2010; Edquist et al., 2006; Sagiv et al., 2006; Nijboer et al., 2011; Karstoft and Rich (submitted for publication), although see Ramachandran and Hubbard (2001), as well as Kim and Blake (2005), for synaesthetic colour showing properties like real colour). This is consistent with the idea that synaesthetic colour experiences arise at a late stage in the hierarchy of visual processing.

, 1995, Colasante et al., 1996 and Ueda et al., 2006), probably as the result of a non-specific cell membrane disturbing action ( Kreger, 1991 and Chen et al., 1997). Albeit few pharmacological activities were described for Sp-CTx

(hemolysis and vascular tonus modulation) ( Andrich et al., 2010), the neutralisation of the local inflammatory and cardiovascular effects of crude S. plumieri venom by SFAV-treatment offers evidence that this scorpionfish cytolysin may possess other pharmacological actions. However, further studies are necessary to assess such potential features of this cytolysin. The results obtained demonstrated that the stonefish antivenom evoked an immune cross-reactive response with scorpionfish venom. SFAV is efficient Selleck PI3K Inhibitor Library in neutralising the most prominent toxic effects of scorpionfish venom. MEK inhibitor This is in accordance with the hypothesis that venomous fish belonging to

different genera or inhabiting different regions may share venom compounds with similar antigenic properties (Church and Hodgson, 2002b). This resemblance may rely on the fact that piscine venoms have evolved for a same defensive purpose and possess similar multifunctional cytolytic toxins (Saunders, 1960, Russell, 1965, Kreger, 1991, Church and Hodgson, 2002b and Andrich et al., 2010). Finally, the study of such venoms and/or toxins may be useful for developing new and more specific antivenoms (or even antibodies) targeting specifically the fish venoms membrane-disturbing toxins and helping in alleviating the major symptoms of scorpionfish envenomation. This work was supported by CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – 477514/06-5), DAAD-CAPES (Probral 250/06), INCTTOX (Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Toxinas) and FACITEC (Fundo de Apoio à Ciência e Tecnologia do Município de Vitória). We would like

to express our gratitude to Dr. Michael Richardson for revising this manuscript. The authors are indebted to M.L.B. Goze for capturing the fishes. “
“Monocrotaline (MCT), a pyrrolizidine alkaloid phytotoxin, has well-documented hepatic and cardiopulmonary toxicity for animals, including ruminants and humans (Mclean, 1970, Mattocks, 1986, Huxtable, 1989, Souza et al., Rebamipide 1997, Schultze and Roth, 1998, Stegelmeier et al., 1999, Nobre et al., 2004 and Nobre et al., 2005). This compound is frequently ingested accidentally because of food grain contamination or intentionally in the form of herbal medicine preparations (Huxtable, 1989). It has been reported that its toxicity depends on cytochrome P-450 mediated bioactivation to the reactive pyrrolic metabolite dehydromonocrotaline (DHM) (Butler et al., 1970, Lafranconi and Huxtable, 1984, Roth and Reindel, 1990, Wilson et al., 1992, Pan et al., 1993 and Schultze and Roth, 1998). This metabolite, despite having a half-life of only a few seconds in aqueous media, is a powerful alkylating agent that binds to DNA and proteins (Petry et al., 1984, Hincks et al.