Milled black pepper (Piper nigrum) force-fed to Egyptian toads as a suspension in amphibian saline or injected subcutaneously in the dorsal lymph sac as an ethanol extract, induced primary tumours in the liver and secondary tumours in other organs (kidney and spleen). When applied to the skin of experimental animals as an ethanol extract, black pepper induced primary tumours in the liver and secondary tumours in the ileum and stomach. Tumours of the liver were diagnosed as hepatocellular carcinomas and those of the other organs as metastases of the primary liver tumours. It is speculated that one or more constituents of black pepper may be responsible for tumour induction in the organs of the Egyptian toad Bufo regularis.

The journal of Toxicology and pest control is one of the series issued twice by the Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological Sciences, and is devoted to publication of original papers related to the interaction between insects and their environment. The goal of the journal is to advance the scientific understanding of mechanisms of toxicity. Emphasis will be placed on toxic effects observed at relevant exposures, which have direct impact on safety evaluation and risk assessment. The journal therefore welcomes papers on biology ranging from molecular and cell biology, biochemistry and physiology to ecology and environment, also systematics, microbiology, toxicology, hydrobiology, radiobiology and biotechnology. www.eajbs.eg.net Provided for non-commercial research and education use. Not for reproduction, distribution or commercial use.In this study, the residues of commonly used carbamate and pyrethroids pesticides in Libya, (oxamyl, bendiocarb, carbofuran, carbaryl, methomyl, thiocarb, permethrin, deltamethrin , fenvalerate, esfenvalerate , and cypermethrin) in vegetables (tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, scald, cabbage, lettuce and squash) and fruits (grape, peach, apple and plume) were determined in different seasons (summer 2013, autumn 2013, winter 2014 and spring 2014). HPLC with UV detector was used for quantification, while the quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe (QUECERS) extraction and purification method was used to isolate the pesticides found in samples. The mean recovery ranged between 75-95% with relative standard deviations ranged between 15%-25%. Results indicated that pesticide residues were found in some monitored fruits and vegetable samples. In all, 93.71% of fruit and vegetable samples analyzed contained no detectable level of the monitored pesticides, 2.81% of the samples gave results with levels of pesticide residues above the MRL, while 4.11% of the samples showed results below the MRL. Carbofuran and oxamyl appear to have health risk associated with them while rest of tested pesticides were found to be under safe limit. The results suggested that the consumers of the eastern area of Libya are exposed to concentration of pesticides that may cause chronic diseases correlated with carbofuran and oxamyl. A future study in a longer period of time would allow obtaining a deeper knowledge about the fulfillment of vegetables and fruits produced in Libya with respect to the use of pesticides and their presence in them.