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Jatropha curcas is an important oilseed plant, with considerable potential in the development of biodiesel. Although Jatropha seed cake, the byproduct of oil extraction, is a residue rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and carbon, with high protein content suitable for application in animal feed, the presence of toxic phorbol esters limits its application in feed supplements and fertilizers. This review summarizes the current methods available for detoxification of this residue, based upon chemical, physical, biological, or combined processes. The advantages and disadvantages of each process are discussed, and future directions involving genomic and proteomic approaches for advancing our understanding of biodegradation processes involving microorganisms are highlighted.

Buckwheat contains many healthy nutrients, and its consumption is therefore increasing. Buckwheat also contains fluorescent phototoxic fagopyrins. A systematic review of fagopyrins and the phototoxicity of buckwheat found that reliable quantitative data on fagopyrin toxicity are not yet available. Generally, buckwheat seeds, flour, and teas are safe in normal amounts. Diets extensively composed of buckwheat sprouts, herbs, and particularly flowers or of fagopyrin-rich buckwheat extracts may cause fagopyrism. A reference standard is needed, as it would enable the accurate evaluation of fagopyrin content in buckwheat products and would allow proper testing of their as yet unknown physical, chemical, and biological characteristics.

Quail poisoning is known to produce an acute myoglobinuric syndrome called coturnism. The cause of this syndrome is still unknown, although it has been postulated that Galeopsis ladanum L. seeds, in particular lipidic compounds or stachydrine, are responsible for this toxicity. Thus, we aimed to study the implication of this plant in coturnism in order to explore the physiopathology of the disease, especially with regard to stachydrine and lipidic compounds extracted from seeds. For this purpose, Wistar rats were fed with G. ladanum seed extracts or with quail meat. However, the rhabdomyolysis outbreak could not be reproduced in any case. Therefore, in view of our results and experimental conditions, seeds of G. ladanum and stachydrine do not appear to be the responsible agents of the myopathic outbreak. This conclusion is supported by the following facts: direct administration of extracts of seeds of G. ladanum or stachydrine produces no myotoxicity in rats; G. ladanum seeds are not toxic to quails and meat from quails fed G. ladanum seeds is not toxic to rats.

The opiate alkaloids present in poppy seed intended for use in food recently have raised major concerns. An efficient method for routine analysis of morphine and codeine using liquid chromatography in combination with tandem mass spectrometry on a triple quadrupole instrument (LC/MS/MS) was therefore developed. The optimal sample preparation was found to be cold extraction of 10 g of unground poppy seed with 30 mL of methanol containing 0.1% acetic acid for 60 min shaken at 250 rpm. The fate of morphine during food processing was also studied. All experiments led to a significant reduction of morphine and codeine. For poppy cake only 16-50% of the morphine was recovered, and in poppy buns at the highest temperature (220 degrees C) only 3% of the original morphine content was found. Ground poppy seed showed significantly lower recoveries than untreated seed. Morphine elimination during food processing has to be taken into account in the current discussion about its maximum limits in poppy seed.

The nutritive and toxicological values of the dry seeds, germinated seeds, and string beans of Erythrina americana were studied using raw and boiled samples. Raw germinated seeds had a higher protein content and lower fiber content than dry seeds. The whole string bean had lower protein content and higher fiber content. However, the seeds of the green pod showed the same protein concentration as the dry seeds (dry basis). Boiling and elimination of broth was beneficial in diminishing the alkaloid concentration in all the samples. The trypsin inhibitors, lectins, and tannins were also diminished as was expected. The raw string bean showed the lowest LD(50). Although the total essential amino acids content of the boiled germinated seeds was increased, the quality of protein, protein efficiency ratio (PER), was lower than in boiled dry seeds, and in these, the PER was similar to the control (casein). The present results suggest that for the protein quality and low alkaloid content, the boiled dry seeds and string beans could be used for animal feeding. It could be interesting to test the raw string beans in ruminants since in this stage E. americana showed the lowest toxicity.

The concentrations of four triterpene saponins present in amaranth seeds were determined with high-performance liquid chromatography. It was shown that the total concentration of saponins in seeds was 0. 09-0.1% of dry matter. In germinating seeds an increase in concentration to 0.18% was observed after 4 days of germination, which remained stable for the next 3 days and later dropped to 0.09%. Highly purified extracts from the seeds were tested for their toxicity against hamsters. The hydrophobic fraction obtained by the extraction of seeds with methylene chloride showed no toxicity; the behavior of tested animals was similar to that of the group given an equivalent dose of rapeseed oil. A crude saponin fraction, containing approximately 70% of pure saponins in the matrix, showed some toxicity; the approximate lethal dose was calculated as 1100 mg/kg of body weight. It is concluded that low contents of saponins in amaranth seeds and their relatively low toxicity guarantee that amaranth-derived products create no significant hazard for the consumer.