Plant conjugates animals

ELISA could potentially be used advantageously in many types of exposure and monitoring situations, for paraquat and other pesticides amenable to ELISA analysis. An obvious use of ELISA is the detection of pesticide residue levels in plant and animal tissues, or food extracts. Biological specimens such as plasma and urine currently analyzed by RIA seem particularly amenable to analysis by ELISA. Portable field kits could be developed to determine safe worker re-entry times into treated fields. Environmental samples such as soil, water, and air, can be analyzed by the ELISA. Pesticide conjugates have been proposed for skin testing of individuals suspected of sensitivity to pesticides (fi.) the ELISA could be used to detect specific antibodies in these individuals and aid in exposure studies. 

As can be seen from those simple examples, chemical monitoring of VOCs based on determination of their trace amounts (from parts per million [ppm] to parts per trillion [ppt]) with the use of modem analytical methods is necessary. It is a consequence of the ease with which VOCs permeate biological barriers (air-circulatory system, the internal and external activities of both plant and animal cells), and the relative ease with which they undergo conjugation reactions (enzymatic oxidation reactions, auto-oxidation, initiation, propagation, and termination). Therefore, new metabolites are created. These metabolites not only determine phenomena connected with the chemistry of the atmosphere but also are responsible for the vital functions of organisms (e.g., the uncontrolled de novo reaction that occurs in the presence of free radicals) (Fig. 14.2) [4]. 

Fatty acids with two or more conjugated double bonds are found in some plants and animals. In tissues of ruminant animals (and, hence, in meat and dairy products), fatty acids with conjugated diene system were detected as intermediates or by-products in the biohydrogenation of linoleic acid by microorganisms in the rumen. The main isomer, 9-cis, ll-fran -octadecadienoic acid, may account for up to 1% of the total fatty acids of milk fat. 9-cis, ll-fran5-15-cw-octadecatrienoic acid, derived from a-linolenic acid, is present in ruminant tissues only in trace levels. This fatty acid has been shown to have several medical properties, especially anti-cancer and anti-atherosclerosis effects. 

Taurine is found in animals and thus in animal foods and milk. It is not found in plants. Most animals, including humans, can synthesize sufficient taurine for their metabolic needs. The major use of taurine is attachment to (conjugation of)... 

Xenobiotics that contain a free or potential carboxyl group can be metabolized by amino acid conjugation in both plants and animals. This reaction is illustrated by the conjugation of 2,4-D with aspartic acid (Equation 31). In higher plants, amino acid conjugation is... 

Most xenobiotic conjugation reactions in plants and animals lead Initially to the fornation of polar products such as glycoside or glutathione conjugates, but several reports indicate that plants (144-148) and animals (249) may also form lipophilic conjugates. 

The extraction of polar conjugates from solid samples (e.g. plant material, animal tissue, and feces) is most commonly carried out... 

The conjugation of xenobiotic compounds In plants has been described In relation to that In some other life forms In the first section of this Symposium. It Is apparent that the processes are similar among among the various taxa but that some notable differences are found both In the chemistry and the disposition of the conjugates. This chapter deals with a relationship between plants and animals, mostly mammals, and therefore a comparison of conjugation In plants and animals Is shown In Table I. The observed differences are Important because It Is from these differences that the requirement to study the fate of xenobiotic plant conjugates In animals Is derived. 

I) the tendency overall is for plant conjugates to be hydrolyzed by animals. 

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