Traditional wisdom confirmed by scientific research: Jatropha species from Mexico is non-toxic

The seeds of _Jatropha platyphylla_, available on the pacific coast from Sinaloa to Michoacán including the Nayarit and Jalisco states in Mexico, are consumed by local communities after roasting them in a manner similar to that used for peanuts. The kernels and kernel meal of _J. platyphylla_ were found to be free of phorbol esters but the kernel meal contained antinutritional factors: trypsin inhibitor, lectins and phytate at levels similar to those in _J. curcas_ kernel meal. However, trypsin inhibitor and lectins are heat labile so this explains why the local people can eat roasted seeds without ill effect. The fatty acid profile of _J. platyphylla_ oil was similar to that of _J. curcas_ and the kernels of both these species contained _ca_ 58% oil. The crude protein content of _J. platyphylla_ kernel meal was 75% against 60% in _J. curcas_, and the amino acid compositions were similar. All the essential amino acids, except lysine, were more abundant than, or comparable to those, in soybean meal or the FAO Reference protein.

	Tilapia and other fish species have been found to be particularly sensitive to Jatropha toxins. For this reason they are useful subjects for bioassays. The heated _J. platyphylla_ kernel meal was included in a standard diet (crude protein 36%) for Nile tilapia (_Oreochromis niloticus_) to replace 50% of the fish meal protein. The fish grew as well as those on a control diet in which none of the fish meal was replaced and those on a diet in which 50% of the fish meal protein was replaced by soybean meal. In all the three groups, blood biochemical parameters that serve as biomarkers for toxicity were within the normal ranges. This study confirmed the non-toxic nature of _J. platyphylla_. 

	The kernels and kernel meal of this species could help alleviate protein and energy deficiency in malnourished children in the lower mountain skirts of pacific coastal areas of Mexico. It could also be used to produce new cultivars with desirable traits using conventional inter species cross breeding and molecular breeding techniques. 
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Impacts of feeding less food-competing feedstuffs to livestock on global food system sustainability

Funding Christian Schader, Adrian Muller, Nadia El-Hage Scialabba, Judith Hecht, Anne Isensee, Harinder P.S. Makkar, Peter Klocke, Florian Leiber, Matthias Stolze, Urs Niggli thank FAO for funding this research. K.E. gratefully acknowledges funding from ERC-2010-Stg-263522 LUISE. Additional data and method details are provided in the supplementary materials. The contribution of P.S. is supported by funding from the Belmont Forum-FACCE-JPI Project ‘Delivering Food on Limited Land’ (DEVIL), with the UK contribution supported by NERC (NE/M021327/1).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The contribution of animal production to agricultural sustainability

International audienceDue to the increasing demand for animal products for a growing world population, use of a large amount of feed ingredients in competition with human food coup led with the urgent need for mitigating environmental effects, livestock farming has to transform. New mo dels of sustainability, that are acceptable to all stakeholders, must be explored. Reducing negative environmental impacts of various agricultural practices is a major global challenge. However, to avoid making inappropriate decisions, sustainability should be understood and addressed by combining indicators that are relevant at farm, country and world levels and not solely based on the emission of greenhouse gases. Sustainability has to go beyond productive efficiency, embracing eco-efficiency concepts and including social equity, and ethical dimensions of development. There is a large diversity of systems, from law-productive or extensive to high-productive or intensive, and countries are at different stages of development, from developing, fast developing to developed. Hence solutions are likely to be very different. Co-existence of different livestock production systems and addressing their sustainability using multiple indicators is a key to success

A review of the noxious plant Lantana camara

O. P. Sharma, H. P. S. Makkar and R. K. Dawra. A review of the noxious plant Lantana camara. Toxicon 26, 975 – 987, 1988.— Lantana camara is one of the ten most noxious weeds in the world. It is toxic to animals and exerts allelopathic action on neighbouring vegetation. The pathological and biochemical effects of the lantana plant in cattle, sheep and guinea pigs have been determined. The chemical nature of lantana toxin(s) and the precise mechanism by which lantana induces cholestasis have not yet been defined clearly. Lantana toxicity is manifested in three phases: the release and absorption of toxins in the gastrointestinal tract; the hepatic phase resulting in cholestasis, hyperbilirubinaemia, hyperphylloerythrinaemia, and finally the tissue phase wherein cell injury results from the accumulation of bilirubin and phylloerythrin. Thus, therapeutic measures should be aimed at arresting one or more of these phases. The different means for control of lantana viz. mechanical, cultural, chemical and biological are discussed with regards to their effectiveness. A number of potential uses of lantana plant have been suggested but none has been exploited on a large scale. Future research is required in order to identify the lantana toxin, antidotes against lantana poisoning, cell - bilirubin/phylloerythrin interactions, cheaper weedicides, allelochemics and finally to obtain more effective phytophagous insects for fighting the lantana menace

Experts report of the consultants meeting on “How to detect and quantify inefficient use of nutrients in livestock production systems: the role of nuclear and isotopic techniques"

il s'agit d'un type de produit dont les métadonnées ne correspondent pas aux métadonnées attendues dans les autres types de produit : REPORTExperts report of the consultants meeting on “How to detect and quantify inefficient use of nutrients in livestock production systems: the role of nuclear and isotopic techniques