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1856. Beans that go down the wrong way
NATURAL PRODUCTS
701
termination of the experiment (36 wk), although nodular hyperplasia was seen in groups fed III or V together with I. Besides confirming that liver tumours, specifically hepatocellular carcinomas, could be induced by I, this study demonstrated a synergistic action between I and II in the production of nodular hyperplasia. Administration of III, IV or V had a significant inhibitory effect on the induction of hepatic carcinomas by I, possibly as a result of the induction of liver enzymes necessary for destruction of the carcinogen. A similar antagonism has been reported between these compounds and both 2-acetylaminofluorene and 3'-methyl-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene. No evidence was found in these studies, however, for any inhibition of the carcinogenic activity of II by IIl, IV or V. 1855. Twenty years on for triaryl phosphate neuropathy Janz, D. & Neundtirfer, B. (1968). Klinische und elektromyographische Untersuchungen nach Triarylphosphat-Polyneuropathie. Dt. Z. NervHeilk. 194, 51. The more or less immediate neurotoxic effects of triaryl phosphates (TAP) have been widely reported (Cited in F.C.T. 1968, 6, 547), but information on the effects of intoxication in the long term appears to be sparse. In this study of 16 patients 12-27 yr after they had suffered TAP intoxication, only three cases showed almost complete recovery, ten still had distinct residual paralyses and the other three were considerably incapacitated. All cases had experienced a change from flaccid to spastic paralyses, the TAP having caused a "systemic toxic lesion" at the level of the first and second motor neurons. The course of recovery confirmed that the nerve fibres were affected by the TAP according to their length. The return to normality progressed from the proximal toward the distal parts of the extremities and occurred more readily in the arms than legs. Recovery was slowest with vasomotor disorders. A considerable reduction in the rate of nerve conductance supported the view (ibid 1966, 4, 355) that TAP causes a systemic demyelination.
N A T U R A L PRODUCTS 1856. Beans that go down the wrong way Knoblich, R. (1969). Pulmonary granulomatosis caused by vegetable particles. So-called lentil pulse pneumonia. Am. Rev. resp. Dis. 99, 380. The inhalation of food particles by patients with disorders of the upper respiratory tract or the regurgitation of the gastric contents during emergency surgical procedures can cause bacterial or chemical pneumonia. In this paper the author describes a further type of lesion, the so-called 'lentil pulse pneumonia', characterized by nodular granulomas in the lung tissue. This was reported in 40 out of approximately 1500 autopsies carried out over a period of 3 yr. The boiling of leguminous seeds, including peas, beans and lentils which are commonly used in hospital diets, separates the shell and breaks up the honeycombed cotyledon, releasing the starch grains enclosed within a cellulose envelope. Aspiration of these particles is common and special stains have shown the presence of food particles in the lungs. If the patient survives the initial pneumonia eventual autopsy will only reveal fibrotic nodules, which are similar to lesions found in other lung diseases, and diagnosis is virtually impossible without some knowledge of the earlier stages of development. In an attempt to define chronologically the sequence of the pneumonic process in man, the author carried out experiments in which solutions of lentil broth were administered by
702
NATURAL PRODUCTS
intratracheal or intrapulmonic injections to anaesthetized animals, which were subsequently sacrificed after various time intervals. The histological changes occurred in four stages. After an initial bronchopneumonic response the lentil pulse particles were walled off by epitheloid cells, giant cells and lymphocytes. Approximately 2 wk after the injection the pulses began to disintegrate within the granuloma. Central necrosis, which sometimes occurred at this stage, was similar to that of tubercular lesions. After 2-3 months some granulomas had become dense fibrotic nodules, while others had become completely calcified. These lesions gave no histological clues to their origin. Further work was carried out showing that particles of shell alone caused foreign-body granulomas and that the cellulose, which is resistant to digestion in leguminous seeds, would produce the type of granuloma described. The starch grains alone, however, produced no granulomas. It is suggested that an allergic response in the immediate vicinity of the granuloma-producing particles may result from the presence of phytohaemagglutinins and that these substances may be responsible for the production of this unique granulomatous pneumonia by leguminous particles.
1857. Cola drinks: Putting off the reckoning Bellet, S., Kershbaum, A. & Roman, L. (1968). Effect of cola drinks on serum free fatty acids. Archs envir. Hlth 17, 803. We have already observed that the increase in serum free fatty acids (FFA) is greater in those people who consume caffeine (I) than in those who take their drinks decaffeinated (Cited in F.C.T. 1969, 7, 398). Now it is the turn of the calorie-conscious cola drinker to be assessed for changes in FFA levels. Twelve healthy men drank on three different occasions 16 oz of regular cola containing 109 mg I and 35 g sucrose, 16 oz of sugarless cola containing 46 mg I, and 16 oz of carbonated water free from both constituents. There was a 5-day interval between each of their different exploits. With sugar-free cola, a progressive increase in serum FFA occurred within the first 4 hr, whereas with the regular formula there was a decrease in the first 2-3 hr, followed by an increase by 4 hr. The maximal rise of FFA after sugar-free cola was 48 % above the baseline. The diminished response of FFA to the sugared liquid was attributed to re-esterification of the FFA initially released. [This confirms the earlier findings of two of these authors that sugar delays, but does not avert, the rise of free fatty acids provoked by caffeine. Whether this can be of any benefit to those prone to atherosclerosis seems very doubtful.]
1858. Plants and polycyclic aromatics
Borneff, J., Selenka, F., Kunte, H. & Maximos, A. (1968). Experimental studies on the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in plants. Envir. Res. 2, 22. Franzke, C. & Fritz, W. (1969). ~lber das Vorkommen von 3,4-Benzpyren neben anderen polycyclischen aromatischen Kohlenwasserstoffen in Pflanzenfetten. Fette Seifen AnatrMittel 71, 23. Evidence has accumulated that the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) found widely in plants and vegetables are not necessarily the result of environmental contamination, but may also be synthesized within the plant (Cited in F.C.T. 1967, 5, 96). Benzene extracts of an alga, Chlorella vulgaris, grown under controlled laboratory conditions, were found to contain nine different PAH although none were detectable in the
701
termination of the experiment (36 wk), although nodular hyperplasia was seen in groups fed III or V together with I. Besides confirming that liver tumours, specifically hepatocellular carcinomas, could be induced by I, this study demonstrated a synergistic action between I and II in the production of nodular hyperplasia. Administration of III, IV or V had a significant inhibitory effect on the induction of hepatic carcinomas by I, possibly as a result of the induction of liver enzymes necessary for destruction of the carcinogen. A similar antagonism has been reported between these compounds and both 2-acetylaminofluorene and 3'-methyl-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene. No evidence was found in these studies, however, for any inhibition of the carcinogenic activity of II by IIl, IV or V. 1855. Twenty years on for triaryl phosphate neuropathy Janz, D. & Neundtirfer, B. (1968). Klinische und elektromyographische Untersuchungen nach Triarylphosphat-Polyneuropathie. Dt. Z. NervHeilk. 194, 51. The more or less immediate neurotoxic effects of triaryl phosphates (TAP) have been widely reported (Cited in F.C.T. 1968, 6, 547), but information on the effects of intoxication in the long term appears to be sparse. In this study of 16 patients 12-27 yr after they had suffered TAP intoxication, only three cases showed almost complete recovery, ten still had distinct residual paralyses and the other three were considerably incapacitated. All cases had experienced a change from flaccid to spastic paralyses, the TAP having caused a "systemic toxic lesion" at the level of the first and second motor neurons. The course of recovery confirmed that the nerve fibres were affected by the TAP according to their length. The return to normality progressed from the proximal toward the distal parts of the extremities and occurred more readily in the arms than legs. Recovery was slowest with vasomotor disorders. A considerable reduction in the rate of nerve conductance supported the view (ibid 1966, 4, 355) that TAP causes a systemic demyelination.
N A T U R A L PRODUCTS 1856. Beans that go down the wrong way Knoblich, R. (1969). Pulmonary granulomatosis caused by vegetable particles. So-called lentil pulse pneumonia. Am. Rev. resp. Dis. 99, 380. The inhalation of food particles by patients with disorders of the upper respiratory tract or the regurgitation of the gastric contents during emergency surgical procedures can cause bacterial or chemical pneumonia. In this paper the author describes a further type of lesion, the so-called 'lentil pulse pneumonia', characterized by nodular granulomas in the lung tissue. This was reported in 40 out of approximately 1500 autopsies carried out over a period of 3 yr. The boiling of leguminous seeds, including peas, beans and lentils which are commonly used in hospital diets, separates the shell and breaks up the honeycombed cotyledon, releasing the starch grains enclosed within a cellulose envelope. Aspiration of these particles is common and special stains have shown the presence of food particles in the lungs. If the patient survives the initial pneumonia eventual autopsy will only reveal fibrotic nodules, which are similar to lesions found in other lung diseases, and diagnosis is virtually impossible without some knowledge of the earlier stages of development. In an attempt to define chronologically the sequence of the pneumonic process in man, the author carried out experiments in which solutions of lentil broth were administered by
702
NATURAL PRODUCTS
intratracheal or intrapulmonic injections to anaesthetized animals, which were subsequently sacrificed after various time intervals. The histological changes occurred in four stages. After an initial bronchopneumonic response the lentil pulse particles were walled off by epitheloid cells, giant cells and lymphocytes. Approximately 2 wk after the injection the pulses began to disintegrate within the granuloma. Central necrosis, which sometimes occurred at this stage, was similar to that of tubercular lesions. After 2-3 months some granulomas had become dense fibrotic nodules, while others had become completely calcified. These lesions gave no histological clues to their origin. Further work was carried out showing that particles of shell alone caused foreign-body granulomas and that the cellulose, which is resistant to digestion in leguminous seeds, would produce the type of granuloma described. The starch grains alone, however, produced no granulomas. It is suggested that an allergic response in the immediate vicinity of the granuloma-producing particles may result from the presence of phytohaemagglutinins and that these substances may be responsible for the production of this unique granulomatous pneumonia by leguminous particles.
1857. Cola drinks: Putting off the reckoning Bellet, S., Kershbaum, A. & Roman, L. (1968). Effect of cola drinks on serum free fatty acids. Archs envir. Hlth 17, 803. We have already observed that the increase in serum free fatty acids (FFA) is greater in those people who consume caffeine (I) than in those who take their drinks decaffeinated (Cited in F.C.T. 1969, 7, 398). Now it is the turn of the calorie-conscious cola drinker to be assessed for changes in FFA levels. Twelve healthy men drank on three different occasions 16 oz of regular cola containing 109 mg I and 35 g sucrose, 16 oz of sugarless cola containing 46 mg I, and 16 oz of carbonated water free from both constituents. There was a 5-day interval between each of their different exploits. With sugar-free cola, a progressive increase in serum FFA occurred within the first 4 hr, whereas with the regular formula there was a decrease in the first 2-3 hr, followed by an increase by 4 hr. The maximal rise of FFA after sugar-free cola was 48 % above the baseline. The diminished response of FFA to the sugared liquid was attributed to re-esterification of the FFA initially released. [This confirms the earlier findings of two of these authors that sugar delays, but does not avert, the rise of free fatty acids provoked by caffeine. Whether this can be of any benefit to those prone to atherosclerosis seems very doubtful.]
1858. Plants and polycyclic aromatics
Borneff, J., Selenka, F., Kunte, H. & Maximos, A. (1968). Experimental studies on the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in plants. Envir. Res. 2, 22. Franzke, C. & Fritz, W. (1969). ~lber das Vorkommen von 3,4-Benzpyren neben anderen polycyclischen aromatischen Kohlenwasserstoffen in Pflanzenfetten. Fette Seifen AnatrMittel 71, 23. Evidence has accumulated that the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) found widely in plants and vegetables are not necessarily the result of environmental contamination, but may also be synthesized within the plant (Cited in F.C.T. 1967, 5, 96). Benzene extracts of an alga, Chlorella vulgaris, grown under controlled laboratory conditions, were found to contain nine different PAH although none were detectable in the