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Pyrrolizidine alkaloids
308
Book reviews
sources. Small, widely dispersed sources will have to be controlled in order to reduce ozone concentrations in many areas. For example, everyday human activities, such as driving automobiles, refueling at gas stations, dry cleaning clothes, and using household products such as paints and cleansers all contribute to the formation of ozone. Reducing those kinds of activities or finding substitutes for those kinds of products may require substantial changes in lifestyle." The other important problem covered by the proceedings is stratospheric ozone depletion and the interrelated problem of global warming, or the socalled "greenhouse effect." These two problems are clearly international in nature, both in regard to their sources and the scope of their potential impacts on human health and the environment. Increased industrial and agricultural activity during the past two centuries has resulted in substantial atmospheric Ioadings of certain gases, such as carbon monoxide, methane, and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). These and many other chemicals are causing important changes in the chemical composition of the atmosphere. Of particular concern is the impact of CFCs on the potential depletion of stratospheric ozone and the associated increases in the frequency of skin cancer worldwide. It could also have an impact on the global climate. According to Vaun A. Newil, "... in most cases the adverse environmental impacts in a particular country will not be proportional to its emissions of harmful air pollutants." Thus, traditional approaches to problem solving domestic legislation, rule making, and enforcement are inadequate to deal with these new problems .... More research is needed to delineate the full scope of expected impacts due to stratospheric ozone depletion and global warming, along with considerable international cooperation to develop and implement effective control strategies." The ozone problem may not be well recognized in many countries. Therefore, the proceedings are of great importance for two reasons. First, it describes the current state-of-the-art of ozone research and is a valuable source of the most recent scientific information; second, it warns about a threat to the environment, and provides information for policy makers on necessary action to be taken on the national and international levels. Lucjan Pawlowski Technical University of Lublin Lublin, Poland
Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids. Environmental Health Criteria 80. International Programme on Chemical Safety, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, 1988. 345 pp., SFr. 34.-/$27.20. This book alerts the medical and public health professions to the risks of morbidity and mortality posed by human consumption of plants, including cereals and herbal medicines, containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Citing well over 500 published studies, the book draws together the evidence documenting acute and often fatal organ damage arising from both accidental consumption via contaminated staple crops and the deliberate consumption, in developed and developing countries alike, of medicinal herbs containing these alkaloids. Risks to farm animals, particularly during periods of drought, are also fully documented. - The book opens with an overview of the need to heighten public and professional awareness of the extent of human poisoning and the steps needed to prevent it. The chemical properties of these alkaloids and the specific mechanisms by which they exert their toxic effects on the liver, lungs, and other vital organs are followed by sources and pathways of exposure. The book describes a large recent outbreak of human poisoning following drought in Afghanistan, and animal disease caused by plants growing in fields or being fed accidentally as fodder. Particular attention is drawn to the widespread use of plants containing toxic alkaloids as herbal medicines and traditional remedies. - Information on veterinary problems includes sources of poisoning, varying degrees of sensitivity among different farm animals, and differences in the severity of disease related to levels of contamination. Data from experimental animal studies are used to d o c u m e n t the acute and chronic effects on the liver, lungs, and central nervous system as well as to assess the evidence of terotogenicity, fetotoxicity, and mutagenicity. The section devoted to effects on man uses data from clinical studies and case reports to detail the clinical and pathological features of veno-occlusive disease in children and adults, the link between intoxication with pyrrolizidine alkaloids and the development of cirrhosis, and the relationship between dose level and toxic effects. The book concludes with 70 pages of tables listing plant sources of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, plants containing hepatotoxic alkaloids, and plants containing known alkaloids that are non-hepatotoxic.
Book reviews
sources. Small, widely dispersed sources will have to be controlled in order to reduce ozone concentrations in many areas. For example, everyday human activities, such as driving automobiles, refueling at gas stations, dry cleaning clothes, and using household products such as paints and cleansers all contribute to the formation of ozone. Reducing those kinds of activities or finding substitutes for those kinds of products may require substantial changes in lifestyle." The other important problem covered by the proceedings is stratospheric ozone depletion and the interrelated problem of global warming, or the socalled "greenhouse effect." These two problems are clearly international in nature, both in regard to their sources and the scope of their potential impacts on human health and the environment. Increased industrial and agricultural activity during the past two centuries has resulted in substantial atmospheric Ioadings of certain gases, such as carbon monoxide, methane, and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). These and many other chemicals are causing important changes in the chemical composition of the atmosphere. Of particular concern is the impact of CFCs on the potential depletion of stratospheric ozone and the associated increases in the frequency of skin cancer worldwide. It could also have an impact on the global climate. According to Vaun A. Newil, "... in most cases the adverse environmental impacts in a particular country will not be proportional to its emissions of harmful air pollutants." Thus, traditional approaches to problem solving domestic legislation, rule making, and enforcement are inadequate to deal with these new problems .... More research is needed to delineate the full scope of expected impacts due to stratospheric ozone depletion and global warming, along with considerable international cooperation to develop and implement effective control strategies." The ozone problem may not be well recognized in many countries. Therefore, the proceedings are of great importance for two reasons. First, it describes the current state-of-the-art of ozone research and is a valuable source of the most recent scientific information; second, it warns about a threat to the environment, and provides information for policy makers on necessary action to be taken on the national and international levels. Lucjan Pawlowski Technical University of Lublin Lublin, Poland
Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids. Environmental Health Criteria 80. International Programme on Chemical Safety, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, 1988. 345 pp., SFr. 34.-/$27.20. This book alerts the medical and public health professions to the risks of morbidity and mortality posed by human consumption of plants, including cereals and herbal medicines, containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Citing well over 500 published studies, the book draws together the evidence documenting acute and often fatal organ damage arising from both accidental consumption via contaminated staple crops and the deliberate consumption, in developed and developing countries alike, of medicinal herbs containing these alkaloids. Risks to farm animals, particularly during periods of drought, are also fully documented. - The book opens with an overview of the need to heighten public and professional awareness of the extent of human poisoning and the steps needed to prevent it. The chemical properties of these alkaloids and the specific mechanisms by which they exert their toxic effects on the liver, lungs, and other vital organs are followed by sources and pathways of exposure. The book describes a large recent outbreak of human poisoning following drought in Afghanistan, and animal disease caused by plants growing in fields or being fed accidentally as fodder. Particular attention is drawn to the widespread use of plants containing toxic alkaloids as herbal medicines and traditional remedies. - Information on veterinary problems includes sources of poisoning, varying degrees of sensitivity among different farm animals, and differences in the severity of disease related to levels of contamination. Data from experimental animal studies are used to d o c u m e n t the acute and chronic effects on the liver, lungs, and central nervous system as well as to assess the evidence of terotogenicity, fetotoxicity, and mutagenicity. The section devoted to effects on man uses data from clinical studies and case reports to detail the clinical and pathological features of veno-occlusive disease in children and adults, the link between intoxication with pyrrolizidine alkaloids and the development of cirrhosis, and the relationship between dose level and toxic effects. The book concludes with 70 pages of tables listing plant sources of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, plants containing hepatotoxic alkaloids, and plants containing known alkaloids that are non-hepatotoxic.