The intoxication of livestock from ingested feed contaminated with naturally occurring toxicants is of great economic importance. Certain toxicants require enzymatic bioactivation before harmful effects are exhibited. In the liver, the cytochrome P-450 dependent mixed function oxidase (MFO) system normally metabolizes foreign compounds (xenobiotics) into more polar, more excretable and less tox...

The high structural diversity of plant metabolites suggests that interactions among them should be common. We investigated the effects of single metabolites and combinations of plant metabolites on insect herbivores. In particular we studied the interacting effects of pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PAs), and chlorogenic acid (CGA), on a generalist herbivore, Frankliniella occidentalis. We studied both...

Plants are eminent source of new therapeutic agents that helps to alleviate human ailments and promote health. The noteworthy preventive and protective properties of these substances are related to their strong antioxidative, antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic potential. Among these, alkaloids are important secondary metabolites that are known to possess curative properties and are of prime imp...