Datura stramonium is an annual herb, growing wild in the most part of our country. All parts of the plant contain belladonna alkaloid. Ingestion of Datura stramonium and the resulting toxic symptoms have been already reported throughout the world, but not in Korea. Two cases of acute anticholinergic symptom due to Datura stramonium intoxication are presented. The diagnosis in the first case was suspected on the basis of clinical signs and symptoms, comfirmed by the appearance of similar symptoms and signs in the second, history of ingestion of small amount of stramonium liquor and identification of the plant specimen obtained. Both recovered spontaneously without neurologic sequalae.
Atropa belladonna ; Datura stramonium* ; Datura* ; Diagnosis ; Eating ; Korea ; Plants

Acute interstitial nephritis (AIN) is an important cause of reversible acute kidney injury and pathologically characterized by inflammatory infiltrate in the renal interstitium. Solanum nigrum (S. nigrum) is a medicinal plant member of the Solanaceae family. Although S. nigrum has been traditionally used to treat various ailments such as pain, inflammation, and fever, it has also been reported to have a toxic effect, resulting in anticholinergic symptoms. However, there have been no reports of AIN caused by S. nigrum. Here, we report the first case of biopsy-confirmed AIN after ingestion of S. nigrum. The patient was successfully treated using corticosteroid therapy.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Eating ; Fever ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Nephritis, Interstitial* ; Plants, Medicinal ; Solanaceae ; Solanum nigrum* ; Solanum*

Transgenic Atropa belladonna with high levels of scopolamine was developed by metabolic engineering. A functional gene involved in the rate limiting enzyme of h6h involved in the biosynthetic pathway of scopolamine was over expressed in A. belladonna via Agrobacterium-mediation. The transgenic plants were culturing till fruiting through micropropogating and acclimating. The integration of the h6h genes into the genomic DNA of transgenic plants were confirmed by genomic polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. Analysis of the difference of plant height, crown width, stem diameter, leaf length, leaf width, branch number and fresh weight was carried out using SPSS software. The content of hyoscyamine and scopolamine in roots, stems, leaves and fruits was determined by HPLC. The investigation of the expression levels of Hnh6h by qPCR. Both Kan(r) and Hnh6h genes were detected in five transgenic lines of A. belladonna plants (A8, A11, A12, C8 and C19), but were not detected in the controls. The plant height, crown width, stem diameter, leaf length, leaf width, branch number and fresh weight of transgenic plants did not decrease by comparison with the non-transgenic ones, and furthermore some agronomic characters of transgenic plants were better than those of the controls. The highest level of scopolamine was found in leaves of transgenic A. belladonna, and the content of scopolamine was also higher than that of hyoscyamine in leaves. The contents of scopolamine of leaves in different transgenic lines were listed in order: C8 > A12 > C19 > A11 > A8, especially, the content of scopolamine in transgenic line C8 was 2.17 mg x g(-1) DW that was 4.2 folds of the non-transgenic ones (0.42 mg x g(-1) DW). The expression of transgenic Hnh6h was detected in all the transgenic plants but not in the control. The highest level of Hnh6h expression was found in transgenic leaves. Overexpression of Hnh6h is able to break the rate limiting steps involved in the downstream pathway of scopolamine biosynthesis, and thus promotes the metabolic flux flowing toward biosynthesis of scopolamine to improve the capacity of scopolamine biosynthesis in transgenic plants. As a result, transgenic plants of A. belladonna with higher level of scopolamine were developed.
Atropa belladonna ; genetics ; metabolism ; Atropine ; metabolism ; Gene Expression ; Mixed Function Oxygenases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plants, Genetically Modified ; genetics ; metabolism ; Scopolamine Hydrobromide ; metabolism ; Solanaceae ; enzymology ; genetics

Solanaceous crops grown in greenhouses and fields in Korea were surveyed from 1994 to 2000. Sclerotinia rot most severely occurred up to 60% in potato. Incidence of the disease was as high as 20% at its maximum in tomato and 5% in eggplant, but as low as less than 1% in red pepper. Symptoms of Sclerotinia rot commonly developed on stems of the solanaceous crops but rarely on fruits of eggplant and tomato. A total of 169 isolates of Sclerotinia species was obtained from the diseased solanaceous crops. Out of the isolates, 165 isolates were identified as S. sclerotiorum, and the others as S. minor based on their morphological and cultural characteristics. S. sclerotiorum was isolated from all the solanaceous crops, while S. minor was only isolated from tomato. Eight isolates of S. sclerotiorum and two isolates of S. minor were tested for their pathogenicity to the solanaceous crops by artificial inoculation. All the isolates of the two Sclerotinia spp. induced rot symptoms on stems of the solanaceous crops tested, which were similar to those observed in the fields. The pathogenicity tests revealed that there was no significant difference in the susceptibility of the solanaceous crops to the isolates of S. sclerotiorum. However, in case of S. minor, the potato cultivar Sumi was relatively less susceptible to the pathogen.
Ascomycota* ; Capsicum ; Cultural Characteristics ; Fruit ; Incidence ; Korea ; Lycopersicon esculentum ; Solanum melongena ; Solanum tuberosum ; Virulence

Jimson weed, also known as Datura stramonium, is a member of the Solanaceae family. Jimson weed was used by American Indians for medicinal and religious purposes. All parts of the Jimson weed plant are poisons, containing the alkaloids atropine, hyoscyamine and scopolamine. So, it is caused by these components to make a anticholinergic toxicity within 6h after ingestion. Initial manifestations include dry mucus membrane, blurred, vision, thirst, difficulty swallowing and speaking, and photophobia, and may be followed by hyperthermia, confusion, agitation, combative behavior, hallucination, urinary retention, seizure and coma. We experienced two patients who developed combative behavior and agitation with pupil dilation caused by Jimson weed. They discharged with improvement after supportive for 2days.
Alkaloids ; Animals ; Atropine ; Coma ; Comb and Wattles ; Datura stramonium* ; Deglutition ; Dihydroergotamine ; Eating* ; Fever ; Hallucinations ; Humans ; Hyoscyamine ; Indians, North American ; Membranes ; Mucus ; Photophobia ; Plants ; Poisons ; Pupil ; Scopolamine Hydrobromide ; Seizures ; Solanaceae ; Thirst ; Urinary Retention

To identify the original plant of Daturae Flos from its adulterants by DNA barcoding, the sequences of ITS2, psbA-trnH, matK, rbcL of four species including Datura metel, Darura innoxia, Darura stramonium and Brugmansia arborea were compared and analyzed. The PCR and sequencing success rate of the four regions (ITS2, psbA-trnH, matK, rbcL) was 100%, 90%, 100% and 85%, respectively. Sequences were assembled with CodonCode Aligner. K2P distances were calculated and NJ tree was performed by MEGA 4.1. Thirty SNPs were found among ITS2 sequences, and 33 insert/deletes were found among psbA-trnH intergenic regions. The interspecific K2P distance of ITS2 and psbA-trnH was obviously higher than that of the intraspecific one. As to matK and rbcL, there was no "Barcoding Gap" existing between inter- and intra-specific distances. The NJ trees of the four regions/combinations were built separately. Samples of Brugmansia arborea were clustered into one clade, and the other species of Datura L. formed another clade. The results showed that either ITS2 or psbA-trnH was useful to identify Daturae Flos from its adulterants.
Base Sequence ; DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic ; methods ; DNA, Intergenic ; genetics ; DNA, Plant ; genetics ; Datura ; classification ; genetics ; Datura metel ; genetics ; Datura stramonium ; genetics ; Drug Contamination ; Flowers ; genetics ; Phylogeny ; Plants, Medicinal ; genetics ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Solanaceae ; genetics ; Species Specificity

Tobacco rattle virus (TRV) is a plant pathogen belonging to the Group IV positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses. TRV causes disease in various plants (e.g., potato, tomato and tobacco), for which it was classified as a controlled quarantine virus in Korea. This study aimed to develop specific primer sets for the rapid detection of TRV. Two RT-PCR primer sets were developed for specific detection of TRV. Furthermore, nested primer sets were also developed, which is required for high sensitivity detection in plant quarantine. The RT-PCR and nested PCR products had the following sizes: set 5 (1,096-->540 bp), and set 7 (878-->756 bp), respectively. In addition, a modified positive-control plasmid was also developed for use as a positive control in TRV quarantine. The diagnostic system for TRV detection was verified using samples from Korean quarantine sites for the last five years (2009-2014). A total of 83 cases were detected among various import crops. This system for detection of TRV will continuously contribute to plant quarantine in the future.
Korea ; Lycopersicon esculentum ; Plants* ; Plasmids ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Quarantine* ; RNA Viruses ; Solanum tuberosum ; Tobacco*

Muscle relaxants are an irreplaceable item within the modern surgical toolkit. Their almost universal use during surgical procedures of medium-to-long duration means that it is essential that all anesthesiologists must have a comprehensive knowledge of their history and the future prospects for their continued evolution. There are a number of naturally- occurring acetylcholinesterase and butrylcholinesterase inhibitors, including the solanaceous glycoalkaloids (SGAs), which are found in the plants of the family Solanaceae. In the Pharmacopiea of the Philippines indigenous plants, one such plants is Cestrum nocturnum (Dama de Noche). Objective: This experimental animal study was therefore undertaken to determine the neuromuscular effect of the intravenous administered Cestrun nocturnum in an anesthesixed cat. Methods: An N-of-1 A-B-A design in in vivo study was undertaken compairing the effect of the Cestrun Nocturnum ansd atracurium on the neuromuscular junction of an anesthesized cat. Results: Intravenously administered cestrum nocturnum produced an incomplete (40% TOF) but sustained depolarization of the neuromuscular junction that took an hour to fully recover. It also prolonged the onset of atracurium- induced paralysis and delayed its recovey in the pesence of neostigmine. Conclusion: In the light of these findings, we infer that cestrum nocturnum interact with atracurium and neostigmne possibly through pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic mechanisms. Further studies are recommended to elucidate these mechanisms.
Animal ; ACETYLCHOLINESTERASE ; SOLANACEAE ; NEUROMUSCULAR JUNCTION

OBJECTIVETo study chemical constituents in the seeds of Datura Stramonium (Solanaceae family).

METHODCompounds were isolated and purified by silica gel, MCI and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography, and their structures were determined based on physicochemical constants and spectroscopic analysis including NMR and MS.

RESULTTwelve compounds were isolated and identified from Datura stramonium, they were N-trans-feruloyl tryptamine (1), hyoscyamilactol (2), scopoletin (3), umckalin (4), daturaolone (5), daturadiol (6), N-trans-ferulicacyl- tyramine (7), cleomiscosin A (8), fraxetin (9), scopolamine (10), 1-Acetyl-7-hydrox-beta-carbol-ine (11), 7-hydroxy-beta-carbolinel-propionic acid (12).

CONCLUSIONCompound 2, 7, 9 and 12 were obtained from Datura genus for the first time, whereas compound 1, 4, 8 and 11 were obtained from the Solanaceae family for the first time.

PURPOSE: This study was performed to investigate the interaction of genetic polymorphisms of glutathione S-transferases and L-myc proto-oncogene with smoking, drinking, and dietary factors in the carcinogenesis of gastric cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two hundred and four gastric cancer patients and 1:1 matched hospital controls were the study subjects. They were interviewed with a questionnaire including alcohol consumption, smoking and dietary habit. We investigated genetic polymorphisms of GSTM1, GSTT1 and L-myc genes using PCR-RFLP techniques. RESULTS: Smoking and soybean paste stew were risk factors and doughnut, fried potato, welsh onion, rice cake, seaweed, slices of raw fish, melon, tomato, garlic and onion were protective factors of gastric cancer. The odds ratios of some food items changed significantly according to the genotypes; green vegetables and pork according to the GSTM1 genotype; pork, soybean curd, steamed or hard-boiled soybean and welsh onion according to the GSTT1 genotype; rice cake and garlic according to the L-myc proto-oncogene genotype. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the genetic polymorphisms of GSTM1, GSTT1 and L-myc genes might modify the effects of environmental factors on gastric cancer possibly by engaging in the metabolism of food, alcohol and cigarette smoke.
Alcohol Drinking ; Carcinogenesis ; Cucurbitaceae ; Diet* ; Drinking* ; Food Habits ; Garlic ; Genes, myc ; Genotype ; Glutathione* ; Humans ; Lycopersicon esculentum ; Metabolism ; Odds Ratio ; Onions ; Polymorphism, Genetic* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Risk Factors ; Seaweed ; Smoke* ; Smoking* ; Solanum tuberosum ; Soybeans ; Steam ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Tobacco Products ; Vegetables