Drugs and Toxins

Plant and Fungal Hepatotoxicities of Cattle in Australia, with a Focus on Minimally Understood Toxins

“…Hepatotoxic agents are divided into two categories based on the predictability of toxicity. Intrinsic hepatotoxins cause predictable, usually dose-related effects, while idiosyncratic hepatotoxins produce disease rarely and unpredictably due to metabolic aberrations in certain individuals or through immunoallergic or autoimmune responses [14]. Toxins or metabolites may act directly by targeting organelles, resulting in an overwhelming direct insult and cell death [11].…”

“…If the action of the toxin is more subtle, organelle damage may not be sufficient to cause cell death; however, it will induce altered signal transduction and gene expression, causing increased susceptibility to inflammatory mediators and oxidative injury [11]. This damage is likely to also cause cellular dysfunction without cell death, as seen in toxins that cause cholestasis without evidence of necrosis [14].…”

“…In contrast, allyl formate requires bioactivation to acrolein by alcohol dehydrogenase, an enzyme localized within periportal hepatocytes [18,19]. Other drugs and xenobiotics, such as acetic acid, albitocin, synthalin, alloxan, pemphigus vulgaris endotoxin and mesalazine are known to cause periportal necrosis in humans, but the mechanisms are not well understood [14,[23][24][25]. Examples in ruminants are limited to Myoporum spp.…”

Systematic Selection of Green Solvents and Process Optimization for the Hydroformylation of Long-Chain Olefines

“…However, one major drawback is the use of the polar solvent DMF. Despite its wide usage throughout the chemical industry, it is developmentally toxic [44] and also damaging to the liver [45]. DMF fulfills the criteria of Article 57 of the European chemicals ordinance REACH and is on the list of substances of very high concern (SVHC) [46].…”

Clinicopathological features of He Shou Wu‐induced liver injury: This ancient anti‐aging therapy is not liver‐friendly

“…However, attributing liver injury to the umbrella term “herb” does not result in timely diagnosis, treatment, prevention, or exploration of the underlying mechanisms of HILI. As is available for modern drug(s) from hepatology textbooks, recent publications and the LiverTox website, it is time to summarise the chief clinical and histological characteristics of herbal hepatic toxicity and its natural history for specific herbs. Such data would improve hepatologists’ understanding of the characteristics of hepatotoxic effects of a given herb, which in turn would contribute to early recognition of disease, provision of optimal care, and establishment of a comprehensive database to facilitate study of the underlying mechanisms of such toxicity.…”