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Volume 21 |
Issue 11 |
Page 44
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A mysterious kidney diseaseJulia Mead traveled to Croatia to learn how an international team of scientists confirmed that poisoned bread causes a kidney disease endemic to the Balkans and verified that the same toxic ingredient was in herbal supplements used around the world. Photographs by Mirko Beović. Please download the Adobe Flash Player to view this content:
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Return to Top comment: Manna From Hell - Very interesting article by Ajay Sharma [Comment posted 2007-11-07 13:34:30] I am really impressed with the results of your study on Aristolochia's toxicity in Balcan area. Whenever I see see the word Aristolochia, it brings back my memories because I worked on the extraction/purification/bioassays of aristolochic acid during 1978-1982. At that time I worked in a lab in northern India on chemosterilant properties of natural products in insect model system. At the same time another group (Pakrashi) was working on the synthesis of aristolochic acid (AA) and its effect on mouse model system in am lab in Calcutta, India. One group in Germany (G. Rucker) was also studying on mutagenic property of AA.
In our insect studies we found that AA when fed to house flies adults, cause sterility in males due to chromosomal abnormalities. Insects were able to form sperms, fertilize the eggs but the larvae died just before the rupture of chorion. In female insects the results were very different as AA caused reduced fecundity ( lower number of eggs laid ) but otherwise normal flies. Following are two references for your information. Mathur, A.C., Sharma, A.K. and Verma, V. (1980) Cytopathological effects of Aristolochic acid on male house flies causing sterility. Experientia 36: 245. Mathur, A.C. and Sharma, A.K. (1978) Resistance of Aristolochia sp. to insect attack: A Chemical Basis. Ind. J. Hort. 35: 406-408. I thought of sharing my experience with you. If you need additional information, please feel free to contact me. Ajay Sharma, Ph.D. Cell Biology and Metabolism Branch NICHD/NIH Bethesda, Maryland |
