Plants and animals

Boron accumulates in both aquatic and terrestrial plants but it does not seem to biomagnify in the food chain. Boron does not biomagnify in aquatic food chains and has low potential to accumulate in aquatic organisms, as judged by studies in the San Joaquin River, California, 

Boron occurred at high concentrations in plants, insects, and fishes at KNWR in California - the recipient of contaminated agricultural drainwater - when compared to a nearby control area. Both boric acid and borax produced mortality and teratogenic development when injected into eggs. The effects of boron on waterfowl growth, physiology, and reproduction are discussed later. 

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Trichloroethanoic acid, CCI3COOH. A crystalline solid which rapidly absorbs water vapour m.p. 58°C, b.p. 196-5" C. Manufactured by the action of chlorine on ethanoic acid at 160°C in the presence of red phosphorus, sulphur or iodine. It is decomposed into chloroform and carbon dioxide by boiling water. It is a much stronger acid than either the mono- or the dichloro-acids and has been used to extract alkaloids and ascorbic acid from plant and animal tissues. It is a precipitant for proteins and may be used to test for the presence of albumin in urine. The sodium salt is used as a selective weedkiller. 

D-ribose, CjHioOj. M.p. 87 0. The sugar of ribonucleic acid it is therefore present in all plant and animal cells. It has the furanose structure shown. 

The isolation of enzymes in a pure state is frequently a matter of great difficulty owing to their instability, their low concentrations in plant and animal tissues, and also to their colloidal nature. The methods employed depend upon the physical and chemical nature of the enzyme in question. In the following experiments, no attempt has been made to isolate enzymes in a high slate of purity. 

Catalase living tissues of plants and animals hydrogen peroxide HjO and inactive molecular O, 70... 

Plants and animals rely on oxygen for respiration. Hospitals frequently prescribe oxygen for patients with respiratory ailments. 

Organic magnesium is important in both plant and animal life. Chlorophylls are magnesium-centered perphyrins. 

Silicon is important to plant and animal life. Diatoms in both fresh and salt water extract Silica from the water to build their cell walls. Silica is present in the ashes of plants and in the human skeleton. Silicon is an important ingredient in steel silicon carbide is one of the most important abrasives and has been used in lasers to produce coherent light of 4560 A. 

Iron is a vital constituent of plant and animal life and appears in hemoglobin. 

Some plant and animal steroids occur in large quantities and can be used as inexpensive starting materials for pharmaceutically useful steroid hormones (see table 22). 

Steroid (Section 26 11) Type of lipid present in both plants and animals charactenzed by a nucleus of four fused nngs (three are six membered one is five membered) Choles terol IS the most abundant steroid in animals... 

The identity of the moiety (other than glycerol) esterified to the phosphoric group determines the specific phosphoHpid compound. The three most common phosphoHpids in commercial oils are phosphatidylcholine or lecithin [8002-45-5] (3a), phosphatidylethanolamine or cephalin [4537-76-2] (3b), and phosphatidjlinositol [28154-49-7] (3c). These materials are important constituents of plant and animal membranes. The phosphoHpid content of oils varies widely. Laurie oils, such as coconut and palm kernel, contain a few hundredths of a percent. Most oils contain 0.1 to 0.5%. Com and cottonseed oils contain almost 1% whereas soybean oil can vary from 1 to 3% phosphoHpid. Some phosphoHpids, such as dipaLmitoylphosphatidylcholine (R = R = palmitic R" = choline), form bilayer stmetures known as vesicles or Hposomes. The bdayer stmeture can microencapsulate solutes and transport them through systems where they would normally be degraded. This property allows their use in dmg deHvery systems (qv) (8). 

Historically, many attempts have been made to systematize the arrangement of fatty acids in the glyceride molecule. The even (34), random (35), restricted random (36), and 1,3-random (37) hypotheses were developed to explain the methods nature utilized to arrange fatty acids in fats. Invariably, exceptions to these theories were encountered. Plants and animals were found to biosynthesize fats and oils very differently. This realization has led to closer examination of biosynthetic pathways, such as chain elongation and desaturation, in individual genera and species. 

The extension of the useful storage life of plant and animal products beyond a few days at room temperature presents a series of complex biochemical, physical, microbial, and economic challenges. Respiratory enzyme systems and other enzymes ia these foods continue to function. Their reaction products can cause off-davors, darkening, and softening. Microbes contaminating the surface of plants or animals can grow ia cell exudates produced by bmises, peeling, or size reduction. Fresh plant and animal tissue can be contaminated by odors, dust, iasects, rodents, and microbes. 

Derived plant and animal products make better use or upgrade the nutritional quaHty of already existing materials or products. Synthetic and manufactured products arose from knowledge of the functional properties of food ingredients and of human and animal nutrition that involved more precise definition of nutrient requirements for growth, reproduction, lactation, and body maintenance in both humans and domestic Hvestock. Pood products have been developed to meet human needs under abnormal environments, eg, military rations for arctic, tropical, or desert environments, and special products for astronauts ia space flights. 

In general, nonconventional protein foods must be competitive with conventional plant and animal protein sources on the bases of cost delivered to the consumer, nutritional value to humans or animals, functional value in foods, sensory quality, and social and cultural acceptability. Also, requirements of regulatory agencies in different countries for freedom from toxins or toxic residues in single-cell protein products, toxic glycosides in leaf protein products, pathogenic microorganisms, heavy metals and toxins in fish protein concentrates, or inhibitory or toxic peptide components in synthetic peptides must be met before new nonconventional food or feed protein products can be marketed. 

The indole ring is incorporated into the stmcture of the amino acid tryptophan [6912-86-3] (6) and occurs in proteins and in a wide variety of plant and animal metaboUtes. Much of the interest in the chemistry of indole is the result of efforts to understand the biological activity of indole derivatives in order to develop pharmaceutical appHcations. 

Naturally Occurring Compounds. Many derivatives of iadole are found ia plants and animals where they are derived from the amino acid tryptophan. Several of these have important biological function or activity. Serotonin [50-67-9] (12) functions as a neurotransmitter and vasoconstrictor (35). Melatonin [73-31-4] (13) production is controlled daily by the circadian cycle and its physiological level iafluences, and seasonal rhythms ia humans and other species (36). Indole-3-acetic acid [87-51-4] (14) is a plant growth stimulant used ia several horticultural appHcations (37). 

Emulsives are solutions of toxicant in water-immiscible organic solvents, commonly at 15 ndash 50%, with a few percent of surface-active agent to promote emulsification, wetting, and spreading. The choice of solvent is predicated upon solvency, safety to plants and animals, volatility, flammabiUty, compatibihty, odor, and cost. The most commonly used solvents are kerosene, xylenes and related petroleum fractions, methyl isobutyl ketone, and amyl acetate. Water emulsion sprays from such emulsive concentrates are widely used in plant protection and for household insect control. 

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