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<p>Objective 1: To determine potential toxicity of herbal medicinal products (to be determined); an in vitro cell culture system and will be utilized to assess acute systemic toxicity and an in-vivo rodent model will be used to determine the subacute, subchronic and chronic of oral toxicity and safety assessment.</p><p>Objective 2: To examine toxicokinetics and biokinetics of herbal medicinal products and assess potential biochemical changes in major drug metabolizing and antioxidant enzymes such as Phase I P450 and Phase II detoxification enzymes and oxidative stress related enzymes. </p><p>Objective 3: Determine the presence of contaminants such(a) toxigenic fungi and mycotoxins by utilizing rapid and accurate immunochemical array Biosensor methods and (b) heavy metals using Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) technique.</p><p>Objective 4: To study mode of action or mechanisms (at the molecular level) associated with herbal medicinal products on toxicological markers such as cytotoxicity endpoints, apoptosis and membrane changes in an in vitro model including the use of genomic microarray and proteomics.</p><p>Objective 5: To characterize and indentify/profile herbal medicinal bioactives and metabolites using chromatographic fingerprinting techniques using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). </p><p>EXPECTED ACCOMPLISHMENTS/GOALS Key accomplishments are: Goal 1: Provide crucial data on toxicokinetics and biokinetics mechanisms of herbal medicinal products which will add to or increase the knowledge base for risk/safety assessment. Goal 2: Generate information on the various types of chemical compositions contained in medicinal herbs and provide chemical, bioactive and toxic markers. This information will contribute to setting standards for safety, efficacy of medicinal herbal products. Goal 3: Fulfill NIFA priority need, which is to train African-American or minority students and/or open up a pipeline of students that are poised to fill needs in the food safety area. Goal 4: The utilization of state of the art detection methods in training students will place students in high demand positions in the Food industry and ultimately give the U.S. a competitive edge on the global food market. Goal 5: Increase visibility of the research and teaching capacity of food/nutrition toxicology and safety program at AAMU.</p>
<p>PROJECT SUMMARY: Plant preparations are marketed as herbal medicines or dietary supplements for a variety of health problems. The demand for these preparations is on the rise and as such, there is an urgent need to investigate their potential for toxicity or safety, especially when consumed in high doses over a long period of time. This study proposes to evaluate the biological and pharmacological activities (toxicokinetics/biokinetics, biodistribution) of selected herbal medicinal preparations in order to establish a scientific platform on their biological activities; address concerns with respect to contaminants (heavy metals, pesticides and mycotoxins) and adulterations of these herbal preparations. The planned objectives are: (1) determine toxicological and safety issues of selected herbal medicinal products and their metabolites using in vitro cell culture and in vivo model systems to assess acute, sub-chronic and chronic toxicity; (2) examine toxicity of selected herbal medicinal products and their metabolites on changes in toxicological biomarkers, such as microsomal drug metabolizing enzymes, biochemical, hematological and histopathological modifications and oxidative stress related enzymes; (3) determine: (i) the occurrence of mycotoxins and pesticide residues utilizing biosensor arrays and molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP)-based biosensors; (ii) heavy metal contamination by Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) technique; (4) to study mechanisms (molecular and cellular) associated with selected herbal medicinal products using systems biology approach (omics technologies) such as metabolomics, proteomics and genomic array techniques and (5) isolation and characterization of active compounds and metabolites of selected herbal medicinal products using chromatographic fingerprinting analysis such as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(LC-MS).</p>