Analysis of Naturally Occurring Food Toxins of Plant Origin

Natural toxins are toxic compounds that are naturally produced by living organisms. These toxins are not harmful to the organisms themselves but they may be toxic to other creatures, including humans, when eaten. These chemical compounds have diverse structures and differ in biological function and toxicity. Some toxins are produced by plants as a natural defense mechanism against predators, insects or microorganisms, or as consequence of infestation with microorganisms, such as mold, in response to climate stress (such as drought or extreme humidity). Well-known groups of natural toxins of plant origin are: cyanogenic glycosides, pyrrolizidine alkaloids, furocoumarins, lectins, and glycoalkaloids. These plant origin natural toxins can cause a variety of adverse health effects and pose a serious health threat to both humans and livestock.

Analysis of Naturally Occurring Food Toxins of Plant Origin is divided into three sections which provide detail overview of different classes of naturally occurring food toxins of plant origin including various analytical techniques exploited for its structural characterization, identification, detection and quantification. It provides in-depth information and comprehensive discussion over different analytical techniques utilized for qualitative and quantitative application purposes of natural toxins of plant origin in food.

Key Features:

• Provides a detailed overview discussion on different classes of plant origin natural toxins in food.
• Explain how IR, NMR, and mass spectrometry are utilized in its characterization and identification.
• Describes applicability of HPLC, LC-MS, GC-MS, and HPTLC techniques for its detection and quantification
• Discusses progress of the field in utility of capillary electrophoresis, ELISA, and biosensors for quantitative application of the technique.

The applicability of infrared spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy are comprehensively described for the detection and identification of plant origin natural toxins in food. While applicability of HPLC, LC-MS, GC-MS, and HPTLC techniques are comprehensively discussed for the quantification of natural toxins of plant origin in food. In addition, applicability of some other sophisticated techniques like capillary electrophoresis, ELISA, and biosensors are also described in detail.