Animal poisonings in Belgium: a review of the past decade

This review focuses on poisonings in companion animals, including horses, farm animals and wildlife, investigated and recorded during the past ten years at the Laboratory of Toxicology of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (Ghent University) and the National Poison Centre in Belgium. The causative agents of poisoning incidents vary among the different species. The Laboratory of Toxicology of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine reports that the majority of poisoning incidents in companion animals, and especially in dogs and cats, are due to contact with insecticides and pesticides, whereas horses are more frequently poisoned by plant toxins. Farm animals, on the other hand, are mainly intoxicated by heavy metals, toxic plants and agrochemicals. The Belgian Poison Centre reports that intoxications in companion animals are mostly with agrochemicals, household products and drugs, whereas in farm animals intoxications with agrochemicals are a common problem. This review gives an overview of the most common causes of intoxication and their association with the different animal species. In addition, some rare or difficult to diagnose intoxications are described, which account for a small number of poisoning cases

Complex of Chemical-technological and Sanitary-hygienic Quality Indicators of the New Pastry Products of Special Nutrition

The complex of chemical-technological and sanitary-hygienic quality indicators of new pastry products of special nutrition was studied. The original recipes of meat pastries for special nutrition, enriched with biologically active components at the expanse of vitaminized blended vegetable oils (VBVO) and protein-fatty emulsions (PFE) on their base, were elaborated. There were elaborated four recipes of pastries of chicken and Turkey with PFE, included in recipes in the amount 15…20 % and with vitaminized blended vegetable oils of two-component and three-component composition in the amount 10 %. Pastry samples, prepared according to SSTC 4432:2005 were used as a control.VBVO composition and fat-soluble vitamins content in them was determined by the gasochromatographic method.Molecular-genetic methods were used for the accelerated diagnostics of pastries safety by agents of food intoxications– Clostridium perfringens and Bacillus cereus, number of mesophyl aerobic and facultative-anaerobic microorganisms (NMAFAnM), classic ones – colon bacillus group bacteria (CBGB), sulphite reductive clostridia, Staphylococcus aureus, L.monocytogenes, Salmonella. The storage term of products was prolonged in 2 times (48 against 24 hours) according to SSTC). The expedience of their introduction in production was proved

The Medical Toxicologist in an Albanian Court: Ethical and Legal Issues

Recent developments in the field of forensic medicine and the judicial practice are both factors influencing considerably toward an increasing role of toxicologists in court hearings and litigation processes. The role of forensic toxicologist has been until a few decennia before a prerogative of the medico-legal specialists, but meanwhile a subspecialty of the general toxicology seems to have been created. Vis-à-vis the increasing presence of toxicologists in penal procedures of poisoning and intoxications, Albanian courts have created their own precedents and bylaws, regulating the presence, the opinion taking, and the relative importance such an expert opinion will have on the final sentence. Due to a multiplicity of factors, legal terminology with regard to drugs of abuse needs to be revised and parallel to such a revision a better defining of the role of expert toxicologist as a collector and interpreter of the scientific proofs seems necessary. Overlapping competencies with judicial bodies and confusing legislative measures will do nothing else but complicate issues that should be and can be easily resolved, through simple and appropriate interventions at different levels

In vitro Removal of Therapeutic Drugs with a Novel Adsorbent System

Background/Aim: Substances in the middle molecular weight range have been shown to play a significant pathogenetic role in as diverse disorders as end-stage renal disease and multiple organ failure. To overcome the limitations in the amount removed by hemofilters, new sorbents with a high biocompatibility are actively being developed. Furthermore, biocompatible sorbents by their nonspecific adsorptive behavior could have great impact on detoxification treatment in exogenous intoxications. We performed an in vitro evaluation of a newly developed highly biocompatible sorbent cartridge (Betasorb(R)), examining its adsorptive capacity concerning therapeutic drugs. Methods: Uremic blood spiked with a range of therapeutic drugs was recirculated for 2 h in an in vitro hemoperfusion circuit containing a Betasorb device for hemoperfusion. The drug concentrations before and after the passage of the cartridge were measured, and the total amount removed was calculated. Results: The sorbent showed effective removal of glycopeptide antibiotics, digoxin, theophylline, phenobarbital, phenytoin, carbamazepine, and valproic acid. Moderate removal could be demonstrated for tacrolimus and cyclosporine A; aminoglycosides were removed to a small extent only. Conclusions: Betasorb hemoperfusion shows a potent adsorptive capacity concerning therapeutic drugs (except aminoglycosides) and could be of major value in the treatment of intoxications. On the other hand, drug monitoring and possible adjustments are necessary during Betasorb hemoperfusion to maintain the therapeutic ranges of the drugs in blood. Copyright (C) 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel

Fourteen-year status report of fatal illnesses in captive chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera)

Fur ranching has been a prosperous industry for decades. Despite its worldwide distribution, little published information is available regarding the importance of the various causes of death in chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera). In the period 1999–2013, 698 captive chinchillas from different commercial ranches were presented for necropsy at the Pathology Department (UNLP). Two-hundred and forty-four animals (35.0%) had classical enteritis, 198 (28.4%) had pneumonia, 63 (9.0%) had other infections, 40 (5.7%) had traumatic injuries, 109 (15.6%) had miscellaneous conditions, meanwhile 44 (6.3%) had no significant lesions. Although some disease processes may be underrepresented (i.e. heat stroke and the shock syndrome), the data were collected from a field wide enough and over a sufficient period to give a reliable overview of the fatal problems of this rodent in captivity.Fil: Martino, Pablo Eduardo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Bautista, Emilia Lucila. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Gimeno, Eduardo Juan. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Stanchi, Nestor Oscar. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Radman, Nilda Esther. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; Argentin

Herbal highs: review on psychoactive effects and neuropharmacology

Background: A new trend among users of new psychoactive substances’ the consumption of “herbal highs”: plant parts containing psychoactive substances. Most of the substances extracted from herbs, in old centuries were at the centre of religious ceremonies of ancient civilizations. Currently, these herbal products are mainly sold by internet web sites and easily obtained since some of them have no legal restriction. Objective: We reviewed psychoactive effects and neuropharmacology of the most used “herbal highs” with characterized active principles, with studies reporting mechanisms of action, pharmacological and subjective effects, eventual secondary effects including intoxications and/or fatalities Method: The PubMed database was searched using the following key.words: herbal highs, Argyreia nervosa, Ipomoea violacea and Rivea corymbosa; Catha edulis; Datura stramonium; Piper methysticum; Mitragyna speciosa. Results: Psychoactive plants here reviewed have been known and used from ancient times, even if for some of them limited information still exist regarding subjective and neuropharmacological effects and consequent eventual toxicity when plants are used alone or in combination with “classical” drugs of abuse. Conclusion: Some “herbal highs” should be classified as harmful drugs since chronic administration has been linked with addiction and cognitive impairment; for some others taking into consideration only the recent trends of abuse, studies investigating these aspects are lacking

Removal of Cyanides from Gadung (Dioscorea hispida Dennst.) Tuber Chips using Leaching and Steaming Techniques

Gadung (Dioscorea hispida Dennst.) has been considered as one of staple foods in Indonesia. However, its high cyanides content has limited its utilisation for commercial food production. This work is aimed to investigate the removal of cyanides content from gadung tuber chips through two consecutive treatments, i.e. leaching and steaming and to propose mathematics model for the leaching process. The results showed that processing water flow rate and leaching time affected the efficiency of cyanides removal in the leaching process. The proposed mathematical model was able to represent the removal of cyanides through leaching process very well. The cyanides content removal was also found to be affected by steaming time. Best processing condition was at leaching using 5.00 10-5 m3.s-1 for 3,600 s, followed by steaming for 3,600 s to obtain cyanides content of 29.9 mgkg-1. While the yielded gadung tuber chips are considered as safe for consumption, further research on physicochemical characteristic of the gadung tuber flour is necessary for its utilisation consideration