Poisonous or non-poisonous plants? DNA-based tools and applications for accurate identification

Abstract

Plant exposures are among the most frequently reported cases to poison control centres worldwide. This is a growing condition due to recent societal trends oriented towards the consumption of wild plants as food, cosmetics, or medicine. At least three general causes of plant poisoning can be identified: plant misidentification, introduction of new plant-based supplements and medicines with no controls about their safety, and the lack of regulation for the trading of herbal and phytochemical products. Moreover, an efficient screening for the occurrence of plants poisonous to humans is also desirable at the different stages of the food supply chain: from the raw material to the final transformed product. A rapid diagnosis of intoxication cases is necessary in order to provide the most reliable treatment. However, a precise taxonomic characterization of the ingested species is often challenging. In this review, we provide an overview of the emerging DNA-based tools and technologies to address the issue of poisonous plant identification. Specifically, classic DNA barcoding and its applications using High Resolution Melting (Bar-HRM) ensure high universality and rapid response respectively, whereas High Throughput Sequencing techniques (HTS) provide a complete characterization of plant residues in complex matrices. The pros and cons of each approach have been evaluated with the final aim of proposing a general user's guide to molecular identification directed to different stakeholder categories interested in the diagnostics of poisonous plants.

Plants that can be Poisonous for Cows. A Review

“…Alkaloids present in the plant: atropine, scopolamine, hyoscyamine (Fuchs et al, 2011), have strong anticholinergic properties (Soler-Rodríguez et al, 2006). But the plant also contains: daturine, and may contain a large amount of nitrates (Mezzasalma et al, 2016).…”

“…Both, Datura stramonium and Colchicum autumnale cause dysphagia, toxic dystrophy of the liver and sometimes cardiac lesions, cardiopulmonary collapse (Mezzasalma et al, 2016). Milk from poisoned cows is contaminated (Jonker, 2015).…”

“…By the alkaloid content, Conium affects the cows (Binev et al, 2007), the poisoning being manifested by acute neurotoxic, cardiovascular effects and fetotoxic effects including teratogenesis (Mezzasalma et al, 2016). Cows that have ingested Conium during 55-75 days of pregnancy (Panter et al, 1992) (Everest et al, 2005).…”

New evidence of predation on humans by cookiecutter sharks in Kauai, Hawaii

“…However, far less is known about the feeding patterns of smaller species of sharks, such as the cookiecutter shark ( Isistius spp. ), that inhabit these environments [9]. This is problematic for trauma identification in areas such as Hawaii.…”

“…This is problematic for trauma identification in areas such as Hawaii. In addition to this gap in the knowledge, it should be noted that shark bites, just as any trauma, can be modified or even concealed because immersion in seawater can erode the edges of the bitemark, lead to the loss of body parts and accelerate the decomposition process [9, 14]. …”