Toxicology revolution

Rodi CR et al. Revolution through genomics in investigative and discovery toxicology. Toxicol Pathol 1999 27 107-110. 

The industrial revolution brought many advances in technology it also brought increased problems with pollution and environmental toxins. Humans now live in an environment that is rich in man-made chemicals. Currently, there are more than 65,000 chemicals in common use with approximately 400 new chemicals entering the environment on a yearly basis. Not surprisingly, toxicology may assume a role of increasing importance within the realm of human health. 

MacGregor JT (2003) The future of regulatory toxicology Impact of the biotechnology revolution. Toxicological Sciences 75 236-248. 

He has authored over 100 publications, edited or authored 4 books, and has made over 220 scientific presentations. He has taught numerous short courses in environmental toxicology and risk assessment throughout North America. At Western Washington University Dr. Landis currently teaches courses in environmental toxicology, ecological risk assessment, and the impact of the Darwinian revolution on science and society. 

The new concepts, techniques and approaches that are creating a ferment in Toxicology, taken together with the impetus fuelled by accelerating advances in the basic sciences, bid fair to revolutionize the practice of risk assessment. Whether this very real promise will be translated into concrete achievements in terms of greater safety depends on the freedom and encouragement afforded to the toxicologist to participate in and advance the revolution. 

All of this changed with the industrial revolution. Large-scale soil, water, and air pollution began to occur as a result of heavy industries such as the production of iron and steel, as well as industrial mining and petroleum extraction. These industries distributed chemical risk beyond the individual level to that of the community. Epidemiology, the branch of medicine that deals with the incidence and distribution of disease conditions in defined human populations, joined forces with toxicology, and studies began to assess the relative risk that chemical exposures exacted upon human communities and populations. 

Polyphenols are commonly present in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and flowers. Moreover, polyphenols can be found in such products as cocoa, tea, coffee, wine, jam, and chocolate. Polyphenolic compounds are also often applied in cosmetics, medicines, pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements, and in recent years, for the production of functional foods. The food industry offers a variety of new functional products in which the polyphenol content is usually higher than in products of natural origin. Milk enriched with soy isoflavones, chocolate enriched in procyanidins, drinks with higher amounts of anthocyanins, functional drinks enriched with extracts of tea—these are just a few products that are the result of functional foods revolution. On the other hand, the use of synthetic antioxidants in the food industry is of great concern among consumers who seek to limit their intake. Toxicological and nutritional research indicates adverse effect of some synthetic antioxidants used in food. The use of additives in food products, mainly in edible fats, means that more attention should be paid to antioxidants that are derived from natural plant extracts and used as food additives. 

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