Chapters authored
Fusarium Mycotoxins and Metabolites that Modulate Their Production
The genus Fusarium is a group of fungi producing several types of toxins with toxicological effect in both humans and animals. Such fungi are commonly found in soils so it can contaminate various types of crops, preferably cereals, leading to significant economic losses. Relative humidity, storage temperature and various handling in cereales increase the possibility of contamination by Fusarium toxins. Cereals naturally have secondary metabolites that may help attenuate contamination by these toxins, but it is necessary to know strategies and mechanisms that generate inactivation mycotoxins. This chapter reviews relevant information about cereal mycotoxin contamination, as well as the production of cereal secondary metabolites as a strategy to reduce the possibility of mycotoxin contamination.
Part of the book: Fusarium
Clinical Relevance of Medicinal Plants and Foods of Vegetal Origin on the Activity of Cytochrome P450
Drug metabolism is a pharmacokinetic process whose main objective is to modify the chemical structure of drugs to easily excretable compounds. This process is carried out through phase I and phase II reactions. The enzymes of cytochrome P450 (CYP450) participate in phase I reactions, and their activity can be inhibited or induced by xenobiotics. The aim of this chapter is to study the clinical relevance of the induction and inhibition of CYP450, by describing the effect that some bioactive compounds present in medicinal plants or foods can modify, either increasing or decreasing the activity of CYP450 enzymes and with it modify the bioavailability and depuration of drugs. Examples will be described on the interaction of medicinal plants and foods of vegetal origin that when combined with some drugs can generate toxicity or therapeutic failure; this will allow gathering relevant information on the adequate pharmacological management in different clinical situations.
Part of the book: Medicinal Chemistry
Plant Metabolites in Plant Defense Against Pathogens
Medicinal plants are widely used worldwide to treat various diseases. Its widespread use is due in part to the cultural acceptance of traditional medicine in different regions of the world, as well as its effectiveness in treating various diseases. Many of its active substances or secondary metabolites are formed to a response of various situations that generate stress in their habitat, such as sudden changes in environmental temperature, humidity, rain, drought, and infections by phytopathogens (fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes, protozoa). The production of these secondary metabolites is a mechanism of defense of plants. In this context, the objective of this chapter is to study the secondary metabolites of medicinal plants that could have a promising application in the control of different phytopathogens in crops of agricultural and economic interest.
Part of the book: Plant Diseases