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Due to a mix-up an older couple (69 years and 71 years) ate a meal with herbs from their garden that contained leaves of monkshood (Aconitum napellus). The monkshood plants grew close to the herbs in their garden. Both patients developed the typical symptoms of aconitine poisoning with paresthesia, hypotension and bradycardia. Over the course of time both developed cardiac arrhythmia with ventricular extrasystoles and required monitoring on the intensive care unit (ICU). The husband was more severely affected and needed catecholamines for successful treatment of hypotension (70/40 mmHg) and bradycardia (45 bpm). The toxicological analysis of the patients' serum taken 3.5 h after ingestion led to the detection of 1.8 ng/ml and 2.0 ng/ml aconitine, respectively. The patients were discharged in good general condition after 1 and 2 days, respectively. Monkshood (Aconitum napellus) is one of the most toxic native plants that can also be found in gardens due to its popularity as an ornamental plant. All parts of the plant contain toxic diterpenoid alkaloids, such as aconitine. Aconitine causes persistent activation of the fast voltage-gated sodium channels resulting in severe cardiac and neurological toxicity. Treatment of aconitine-induced ventricular arrhythmias is challenging as they are often refractory to electrical cardioversion and antiarrhythmic drugs.Aufgrund einer Verwechslung aß ein älteres Ehepaar eine Mahlzeit mit Kräutern aus ihrem Garten, die Blätter des Blauen Eisenhuts (Aconitum napellus) enthielt. Die Eisenhutpflanzen wuchsen im Garten in der Nähe der Kräuter. Beide Patienten entwickelten die typische Symptomatik einer Aconitinvergiftung mit Parästhesien, Hypotonie und Bradykardie. Im Verlauf hatten beide Herzrhythmusstörungen mit ventrikulären Extrasystolen und mussten intensivmedizinisch behandelt werden. Katecholamine wurden bei dem stärker betroffenen Ehemann erfolgreich eingesetzt. Bei der toxikologischen Untersuchung des Serums, entnommen 3,5 h nach der Mahlzeit, wurden 1,8 ng/ml bzw. 2,0 ng/ml Aconitin nachgewiesen. Die Patienten konnten nach einem bzw. 2 Tagen in gutem Allgemeinzustand entlassen werden.

Researchers have been examining the biological function(s) of isoprene in isoprene-emitting (IE) species for two decades. There is overwhelming evidence that leaf-internal isoprene increases the thermotolerance of plants and protects them against oxidative stress, thus mitigating a wide range of abiotic stresses. However, the mechanisms of abiotic stress mitigation by isoprene are still under debate. Here, we assessed the impact of isoprene on the emission of nitric oxide (NO) and the S-nitroso-proteome of IE and non-isoprene-emitting (NE) gray poplar (Populus × canescens) after acute ozone fumigation. The short-term oxidative stress induced a rapid and strong emission of NO in NE compared with IE genotypes. Whereas IE and NE plants exhibited under nonstressful conditions only slight differences in their S-nitrosylation pattern, the in vivo S-nitroso-proteome of the NE genotype was more susceptible to ozone-induced changes compared with the IE plants. The results suggest that the nitrosative pressure (NO burst) is higher in NE plants, underlining the proposed molecular dialogue between isoprene and the free radical NO. Proteins belonging to the photosynthetic light and dark reactions, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, protein metabolism, and redox regulation exhibited increased S-nitrosylation in NE samples compared with IE plants upon oxidative stress. Because the posttranslational modification of proteins via S-nitrosylation often impacts enzymatic activities, our data suggest that isoprene indirectly regulates the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) via the control of the S-nitrosylation level of ROS-metabolizing enzymes, thus modulating the extent and velocity at which the ROS and NO signaling molecules are generated within a plant cell.

The changes of clinical symptoms and the tolerability of Prospan((R)) acute Effervescent Cough Tablets were investigated in a multicenter, prospective post-marketing surveillance (PMS) study focusing on patients with chronic bronchitis.The study included 1,350 male and female patients aged 4 years and above who were treated in one of 135 participating medical practices and who suffered from chronic bronchitis (with or without airway obstruction). During a scheduled observational period of 4 weeks, the patients had to take 1(1/2) or 2 tablets per day (depending on their age), according to the manufacturer's dosing recommendations, corresponding to 97.5 or 130 mg of dried ivy leaf extract (about 585- 780 mg of drug). Treatment success was assessed by observing the changes in the direct symptoms of chronic bronchitis between the baseline examination and the end of treatment. Safety was evaluated by analyzing adverse events.In comparison to baseline, the following percentages of patients showed improved symptoms or were cured at treatment end: cough 92.2%; expectoration 94.2%; dyspnea 83.1%; respiratory pain 86.9%. In each of the four symptoms at least 38% of the initially affected patients were completely free of complaints. Three patients (0.2%) experienced adverse events in which a causal relationship to the drug under investigation could not be excluded (2x eructation, 1x nausea).Considering the favorable changes in all investigated clinical symptoms as well as the excellent tolerability in children and adults, the ivy leaf extract preparation Prospan acute Effervescent Cough Tablets can be considered as a therapeutic option in alleviating the symptoms of chronic bronchitis.

Extensive gastric ulceration was diagnosed endoscopically and histologically in a two-year-old cat with haematemesis, anorexia and severe dehydration. Based on history (previous ingestion of leaf pieces of Dieffenbachia) and exclusion of another cause, intoxication with Dieffenbachia was diagnosed. The toxical effect of Dieffenbachia on mucous membranes is probably explained by ejection of calcium oxalate crystals leading to injury of mast cells and a massive histamine release. Supportive treatment including electrolyte infusions, ranitidine, sucralfate, and forced feeding using an endoscopically placed gastrostomy tube resulted in quick clinical recovery of this cat.

A guinea pig that had eaten dried leaves from Nerium oleander was presented in the clinic. At this time the animal had well developed neurologic symptoms (seizures), but also gastrointestinal (tympanism) and cardiac symptoms were present. After intensive care for 24 hours the patient was discharged from the clinic in a good state of health.

Cardioprotective effects of a standardized extract from leaves with flowers of Crataegus (WS-1442; content of oligomeric procyandins [OPC]: 18.75%) have recently been demonstrated in an ischemia-reperfusion model in rats. Further studies were now conducted to clarify the mechanism of action and to identify active constituents involved in these effects of WS-1442. Exhausting partitioning between ethyl acetate/water and successive ultrafiltration of the aqueous layer led to the quantitative recovery of three fractions, which were tested for their in vitro radical scavenging (RS) and human neutrophil elastase (HNE) inhibitory activity. The lipophilic ethylacetate-soluble fraction A, enriched in flavone derivatives and constituting 14.9% of WS-1442, was as active as WS-1442 in inhibiting HNE. However, its RS activity was only about half that of the primary extract. Although 67.9% of WS-1442 was recovered in a water-soluble low molecular weight fraction B, this fraction displayed only weak RS and HNE inhibiting activity. In contrast, the RS and HNE inhibiting potencies of an essentially flavone-free and OPC-rich fraction C (21.3% of WS-1442) were significantly higher (inhibition of lipid peroxidation: IC50 0.3 microgram/ml; inhibition of HNE: IC50 0.84 microgram/ml) as those of WS-1442. The RS and HNE inhibitory activities of the extract and those of its fractions correlated well with their OPC-content but not with their concentration of flavonols. These results demonstrate that OPCs of Crataegus extracts possess stronger radical scavenging activities than flavone derivatives or other constituents. In addition, the oligomeric components are potent inhibitors of HNE. Oral administration of 20 mg/kg/d of the OPC-rich fraction C to rats afforded similar protection against ischemia-reperfusion induced pathologies as treatment with WS-1442 at a dose of 100 mg/kg/d. These observations indicate that radical scavenging and elastase inhibitory activities could indeed be involved in the observed cardioprotective effects of WS-1442, and demonstrate that OPCs are major orally active constituents of WS-1442. Thus, Crataegus extracts used therapeutically for cardiovascular diseases should be analyzed and standardized for their OPC-content.

On the basis of various plant organs the relation between the used microwave energy and the drying processes, temperatures of the surface and the interior of the drying materials as well as the remaining moisture in the drugs was investigated. Leaf, flower and herb drugs showed a similar drying behaviour. Plant material of high humidity, e.g. meaty fruits or roots, should be dried by means of pulsed microwave application to avoid too high temperatures. In almost all investigated drugs microwave drying resulted in a lower remaining moisture than air drying. The effect of microwave irradiation on carbohydrates, fats and proteins in plant materials was preliminarily investigated.