Unknown Ingredients Research Articles

Clinical characteristics of over-the-counter (OTC) drug abusers in psychiatric practice in Japan: Comparison of single and multiple OTC product abusers.

To examine the clinical characteristics of over-the-counter (OTC) drug abusers in psychiatric practice in Japan. We examined the attributes, ICD-10 subcategory, and comorbid mental disorders of patients who mainly abuse OTC products and compared the clinical characteristics of single product and multiple products abusers, using the database of the "2022 Nationwide Mental Hospital Survey of Drug-related Disorders." Among the 2468 subjects included in this survey, 273 (11.1%) used OTC products as main drugs. Of these, 209 (78.3%) and 58 (21.7%) were classified into the single product group and the multiple products group, respectively. Six were excluded for unknown ingredients. By comparing these groups, we found that many of the multiple products group consisted of young women who were recently treated for drug problems. Many subjects in the group also had a short treatment period. No differences were observed between the groups regarding the ICD-10 F1 subcategory, but many subjects in the multiple products group fulfilled the criteria of F6 "disorders of adult personality and behavior." OTC products are easily accessible drugs of abuse for young women in Japan. The results of this study indicate the necessity to reconsider the educational approach for preventing drug abuse, which has focused on illicit drugs. The study also indicates that some OTC products, which contain ingredients banned overseas due to their harmful effects, are still sold in Japan and that abusers for those products exist. Measures by the government are considered urgently needed.

Surfacing, as well as testing, “elliptical assumptions” in a theory of change: Principled discovery

While the testing of known assumptions in a theory of change is important, so too is the discovery or surfacing of previously unrecognized assumptions. This paper describes and illustrates the surfacing of “elliptical assumptions,” which involve the unknown ingredients that are necessary for a program to be effective. Identifying the ingredients of program success is important for several reasons, which include (a) guiding the development of an improved theory of change, which in turn can guide program improvement, and (b) informing efforts to transfer the program to other settings and populations. However, when an observed pattern, such as differential program effects, points to the existence of a previously unidentified but important ingredient, this might be a just-so story, a seemingly compelling but inaccurate account. Accordingly, the testing of previously unidentified elliptical assumptions is recommended and illustrated.

Eco(toxicological) Assessment of the Neonicotinoid Formulation Actara® Using Planarian Girardia tigrina as Model Organism

Neonicotinoid pesticides are one of the most commercialized groups worldwide. Their application in agriculture aims to control pests through a systemic mode of action which is not specific to target species. Our study aimed to evaluate the effects of the insecticide Actara® [active ingredient thiamethoxam (TMX)] on a non-target species, Girardia tigrina. Therefore, acute and sublethal endpoints, such as mortality, feeding activity, locomotion and behavioral biomarkers were assessed. Actara® exerted low toxicity towards the planarian Girardia tigrina, showing a 96 h LC50 value of 77.6 mg TMX·L−1 (95% C.I: 74.1–81.2 mg TMX·L−1; R2 = 0.85). At the sublethal level, Actara® exerted no effect on regeneration of photoreceptors and auricles of planarians after 24 and 48 h post-exposure (NOEC > 7.8 mg TMX·L−1). The feeding rate of planarians was significantly increased by Actara®, but only at the highest tested concentration (LOEC = 7.8 mg TMX·L−1). Planarians showed to be less sensitive to the active ingredient TMX compared to other freshwater species. This might be explained by the presence of a high proportion of sub-types of acetylcholine receptors in planarians, exhibiting low binding affinity sites for TMX, an acetylcholine partial agonist. The comparison between effects induced by Actara® with the ones caused by other formulations, in planarians, might support our understanding of how other unknown ingredients can modify the uptake, and bioavailability of such substances, as well as the detoxification capacity of planarians, all of which influences toxicity.

934 Chemical Burns and the Use of High-Strength Topical Lidocaine Cream in Tattooing - a Case Report

Abstract Topical anaesthetics have long been used for their ease of use and short duration to provide local anaesthetic prior to procedures such as cannulation and tattooing. We present the case of a 26-year-old tattoo artist sustaining a chemical burn and resulting infection from a high-strength topical lidocaine cream. The patient presented to the emergency department 5-days following application of the cream. The topical preparation was sourced online, came in a nondescript white tube, and was marketed as having a 50% lidocaine content with no information regarding its constitution. For comparison, EMLA cream (lidocaine/prilocaine) commonly used in hospitals, is a 5% preparation. Following application, the patient proceeded to self-tattoo his left lower leg, in a ‘blackout’ style. On presentation, a 2.5% TBSA area was blistered, with areas of denuded skin, in keeping with a deep dermal burn. Much of the lower leg was actively discharging yellow-stained serous fluid. In addition, there was tracking erythema around the demarcated area, and the left foot was grossly oedematous. Blood tests revealed CRP of 103 and WCC of 11.4. The patient was commenced on intravenous flucloxacillin. Wound swab results showed significant growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Following stepdown to oral antibiotics and careful wound management with dressings such as Flaminal and then honey-based dressings, the patient made a full recovery, avoiding the requirement for surgical intervention. This case highlights the difficulty when assessing burns in heavily tattooed skin. Additionally, unregulated topical anaesthetics must be avoided by the public, due to infection risk and unknown ingredients.

Tattoo inks are toxicological risks to human health: A systematic review of their ingredients, fate inside skin, toxicity due to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, primary aromatic amines, metals, and overview of regulatory frameworks.

Today, tattooing has become very popular among people all over the world. Tattooists, with the help of tiny needles, place tattoo ink inside the skin surface and unintentionally introduce a large number of unknown ingredients. These ingredients include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heavy metals, and primary aromatic amines (PAAs), which are either unintentionally introduced along with the ink or produced inside the skin by different types of processes for example cleavage, metabolism and photodecomposition. These could pose toxicological risks to human health, if present beyond permissible limits. PAH such as Benzo(a)pyrene is present in carbon black ink. PAAs could be formed inside the skin as a result of reductive cleavage of organic azo dyes. They are reported to be highly carcinogenic by environmental protection agencies. Heavy metals, namely, cadmium, lead, mercury, antimony, beryllium, and arsenic are responsible for cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, lungs, kidneys, liver, endocrine, and bone diseases. Mercury, cobalt sulphate, other soluble cobalt salts, and carbon black are in Group 2B, which means they may cause cancer in humans. Cadmium and compounds of cadmium, on the other hand, are in Group 1 (carcinogenic to humans). The present article addresses the various ingredients of tattoo inks, their metabolic fate inside human skin and unintentionally added impurities that could pose toxicological risk to human health. Public awareness and regulations that are warranted to be implemented globally for improving the safety of tattooing.

Diagnostic Fragment-Ion-Based for Rapid Identification of Chlorogenic Acids Derivatives in Inula cappa Using UHPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry.

Inula cappa (Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don) DC has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat malaria, dysentery, and hepatitis. Previous studies have shown that chlorogenic acid is the effective ingredient of plants in this family. And the research of the chlorogenic acid in Inula cappa will help to further improve the effective resource utilization rate of this plant. Therefore, it is necessary to establish an accurate method to characterize the chlorogenic acid components in Inula cappa. In this study, a simple, fast, and sensitive UHPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap mass spectrometry method was established, which can simultaneously analyze known and unknown ingredients in a short time (within 30 minutes) in Inula cappa. According to the diagnosis fragmentation ions, retention time, and bibliography, 68 chlorogenic acid derivatives were identified in Inula cappa. The results of this experiment lay the foundation for the active substances and quality control of Inula cappa and provide a theoretical basis for whether Inula cappa can be an alternative to the endangered wild medicinal materials of the same family.

Japanese Immigrants’ Pantry

This article explores the role of cookbooks in supporting the creation of new eating habits and identities during the Japanese immigration to Brazil. When Japanese immigrants first arrived in Brazil in 1908, the local food represented a major barrier to their acclimation in the new country. Unknown ingredients and disgust for popular seasonings like pork fat and garlic prevented Japanese immigrants from preparing familiar meals and caused drastic changes to their diets. After nearly three decades improvising meals, Japanese immigrants started to better incorporate Brazilian ingredients into their eating habits when an alliance between the Brazilian and the American governments in 1937, and Japan’s defeat in World War II pressured them to adopt Brazil as their new home country. As Japanese immigrants internalized a new mindset focused on making Brazil their permanent home, cookbooks written by immigrants not only taught them how to use Brazilian ingredients, but also reflected immigrants’ improvements in building a higher-quality lifestyle. This article analyzes cookbooks written by Japanese immigrants in tandem with private diaries and recipes to examine the complex process of creating new eating habits as well as new Brazilian Nikkei identities.

Conventional Medicine in the Treatment of Different Diseases as a Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Traditional medicine is still the only treatment in many rural areas especially the rural communities of east. Due to limited access to modern medicine, local people use medicinal plants to treat most diseases. Some herbs contain powerful contents and must be treated with the same precautionary care as in the case of drug, we do. In fact, a lot of drugs are basically based on artificial verities of natural composite in plants. For example, the heart drug Digitalis comes from a foxglove plant. Some drugs are single active substance derived from botanical sources. Herbalists believe that if the active ingredient is isolated from other parts of the plant, its action may be lost or its safety may be reduced. E.g, salicylic acid is present in a plant of meadowsweet which is used for aspirin production. Aspirin may cause bleeding in the gastric mucosa, but meadowsweet contains some other compounds naturally that interfere with the stimulation of salicylic acid. According to some practitioners, the effect of whole plant is greater than its parts individually. Critics believe that the nature of the herbs makes itself difficult to administer of such active ingredients. Herbs contain active ingredients, Mostly of them have unknown ingredients. As with other prescription drugs, herbs should always be prescribed by a qualified doctor.

Compound’s Pre-Screening of <i>Withania somnifera</i>, <i>Bacopa monnieri</i> and <i>Centella asiatica</i> Extracts

Spectral fluorescence signature, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry and Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry for identification of chemical and bioactive compounds were applied to study the plant extracts of Withania somnifera, Centella asiatica and Bacopa monnieri which are related to the possible treatment of mental diseases as Alzheimer, Parkinson and Depression. These plants are known for different positive phytotherapeutic effects on the human brain without negative post-, adverse or after effects to the treated individuals, and have been recommended in several medical studies. Therefore, we selected these plants for further analysis, based on the inhibition results of in vitro Amyloid Beta fibrillation tests made by previous measurements. With this study a first screening of the complex plant extract mixtures was performed, to get an initial overview about known and unknown ingredients. In all three plants, similar main compounds were identified, however in different quality and quantity. These may provide substantial information on which compound combinations might be mainly responsible for the positive effects and should be further investigated being responsible for reducing the fibrillation process of Amyloid Beta.

Development of an on-line immobilized α-glucosidase microreactor coupled to liquid chromatography for screening of α-glucosidase inhibitors

In order to rapidly screen α-glucosidase (α-GLU) inhibitors from Chinese herbs extract, an online screening method was developed by using enzymatic microreactors in combination with HPLC. A type of dodecahedral and porous material (ZIF-90) was synthesized at room temperature and employed as supports to construct enzymatic microreactor. The amount of α-glucosidase immobilized on ZIF-90 was 58.65 μg per mg carrier under the optimized conditions. In the online screening process, the eluent of 30 s was selected for detection. For the application of this on-line screening system, three α-glucosidase inhibitors with known structure (2,4-dimethoxy-6,7-dihydroxyphenanthrene, batatasin I, 3,5-dimethoxy-2′-hydroxyaiaryl) were selectively extracted from Dioscorea opposita Thunb. Three compounds screened from honeysuckle leaves were isochlorogenic acid B, 1,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid and isochlorogenic acid C, respectively. Two compounds including (+)-catechin and (-)-epigallocatechin gallate were screened from Xinyang Maojian tea. Three unknown ingredients were also screened out from Radix Rehmanniae Praeparata. The nanomaterials in the microreactor can be conveniently replaced. The screening flow rate and elution time can be easily adjusted and controlled by microinjection pump. Considering the specificity of enzyme binding and convenience of online screening system, this method has great potential for fast real-time fishing of α-glucosidase inhibitors from Chinese herbal medicines.

Clinicopathological feature analysis of IgA nephropathy complicated with acute kidney injury in children

Objective To investigate the clinicopathological features of IgA nephropathy(IgAN) complicated with acute kidney injury (AKI) in children. Methods The clinical and pathological data of children with biopsy-proven primary IgAN and complicated with AKI from January 2012 to December 2016 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University were analyzed retrospectively, and the data of macroscopic hematuria (MH) associated AKI(15 cases) and other MH without AKI(99 cases) were compared. Results (1) Among 211 patients diagnosed with IgAN, 21 (9.95%) patients were complicated with AKI.Among the 21 cases, the average age was (9.5±2.1) years old, in which 17 cases(80.9%) were males, 19 cases with MH, and the range of the peak serum creatinine was 93-627 μmol/L.In histology, cellular/fibrocellular crescents were found in 11 cases, while high proportion of tubules filled with red blood cell(RBC) casts were observed in 8 cases, and moderate to severe acute tubular injury (ATI) were observed in 16 cases.In 2 cases, extensively mixed inflammatory cell infiltration with eosinophils was present in the interstitium.(2) According to the clinical and pathological characteristics, the 21 cases were divided into 3 groups: 15 cases with MH related AKI, 4 cases with crescentic glomerulonephritis, and 2 cases with acute interstitial nephritis.Compared with MH without AKI group(99 cases), the MH associated AKI group(15 cases) had significantly longer duration of MH, higher proteinuria level, urinary levels of β2-microglobulin (β2-MG) and N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), and greater frequency of RBC casts and ATI, and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05). In 2 acute interstitial nephritis cases, one had a history of taking weight loss drug with unknown ingredients, while the specific cause of the other was not clear.(3) None of the patients was on dialysis, but corticosteroid was prescribed in 17 cases (including methylprednisolone pulse therapy in 6), and 3 cases were combined with cyclophosphamide.Almost all patients achieved normal renal function except for one who had no response within 2 months after treatment.The median follow-up period was 24 months, in which 1 patient with crescentic glomerulonephritis progressed to end-stage renal disease. Conclusions AKI is commonly seen in children with IgAN, and complete recovery of renal function was seen in all patients with MH associated AKI and acute interstitial nephritis. Key words: IgA nephropathy; Acute kidney injury; Macroscopic hematuria; Child

Supplementation practices, perceptions and knowledge about anti-doping among Jamaican high school athletes

The increased availability of nutritional supplements has been accompanied with concerns about safety and failed doping tests in athletes through contamination and presence of unknown ingredients. We sought to obtain baseline information on young athletes’ knowledge and practices regarding supplements which can guide development of educational programmes. Questionnaires were administered to Jamaican athletes aged 12–19 years attending after-school training for competitive events including the annual athletics competition- Girls and Boys Championship or “Champs”. The questionnaires comprised 27 questions divided into four sections: i) demographics, ii) supplement-taking habits iii) supplement perception and iv) knowledge. Of 127 athletes, the 57.4% (N = 73) that had taken supplements at least occasionally in the last year, had completed significantly more years of training,3.5 ± 1.5 versus 2.8 ± 1.2 years (± standard deviation), than non-users (P < 0.05) and those training for Champs were more likely to take supplements (P < 0.005). Males and Champs athletes were more likely to obtain supplements from coaches, and more likely to not know the source of the supplements compared with other athletes (P < 0.05 in all instances). 37.1% athletes stated they thought that supplements could increase sports performance. Knowledge was poor with average scores of 38% for the knowledge section with Champs athletes obtaining significantly lower scores than athletes partaking in other sports. Athletes with self-reported familiarity of the World Anti-doping Code obtained higher scores (P < 0.0005). The poor knowledge of supplement usage and of the World Anti-doping Code warrants training of students regarding the potential risks of taking supplements.

A design of experiments approach for the rapid formulation of a chemically defined medium for metabolic profiling of industrially important microbes.

Geobacillus thermoglucosidans DSM2542 is an industrially important microbe, however the complex nutritional requirements of Geobacilli confound metabolic engineering efforts. Previous studies have utilised semi-defined media recipes that contain complex, undefined, biologically derived nutrients which have unknown ingredients that cannot be quantified during metabolic profiling. This study used design of experiments to investigate how individual nutrients and interactions between these nutrients contribute to growth. A mathematically derived defined medium has been formulated that has been shown to robustly support growth of G. thermoglucosidans in two different environmental conditions (96-well plate and shake flask) and with a variety of lignocellulose-based carbohydrates. This enabled the catabolism of industrially relevant carbohydrates to be investigated.

Characteristics of Daily E-Cigarette Use and Acquisition Means Among a National Sample of Adolescents.

To examine the relationship between several e-cigarette-related characteristics and daily e-cigarette use among adolescent current users. Secondary analysis of 2016 National Youth Tobacco Survey data. United States middle schools and high schools. One thousand five hundred seventy-nine current e-cigarette users. Daily e-cigarette use and e-cigarette flavors, brands, device type, and acquisition were measured. Logistic regression and Poisson regression models were built. A total of 13.6% of current users reported daily use. Results indicated that daily users were at increased odds of using all flavor types (all P < .001), with the exception of menthol/mint, and using a higher number of flavors than nondaily users (P < .001). Daily users were more likely to use Blu, eGo, Logic, Halo, NJOY, and another unlisted brand but less likely to report they did not know the brand used (all P ≤ .01). Daily users also reported using a higher number of brands than nondaily users (P < .001). Daily users were at increased odds of using marijuana/tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) oil wax as device ingredients (P < .001) and less likely to use only nicotine (P < .001) or unknown ingredients (P = .004). Daily users were more likely to acquire e-cigarettes from a vape shop, gas station/convenience store, Internet, mall/shopping center kiosk, drug store, grocery store, or other place (all P ≤ .01). Comprehensive efforts are needed to reduce e-cigarette use and nicotine addiction among adolescents.

Effects of absence positioning of unknown product ingredients on consumer evaluations

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of positioning unknown ingredients either with the presence or absence of framing; both are common in marketplace (e.g. Secret® deodorant visibly claims “aluminum chlorohydrate” while Crystal® promotes “no aluminum chlorohydrate”).Design/methodology/approachThe authors used three scenario-based experiments. The participants were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk online panel and randomly assigned to a variety of experimental conditions.FindingsInitial study results show that consumers have more positive evaluations and purchase intentions for absence positioning than presence positioning, because absence positioning induces greater perceptions of protection. In the second study, these results are extended using multiple ingredients, along with competitor products; they show that absence positioning leads to better evaluations than presence positioning and replicate the mediation effect that was found earlier. In the final study, through manipulating participants’ regulatory focus, the authors show that absence-positioned ingredients have a higher choice share when consumers are in the prevention mindset. Conversely, when customers are in promotion mindset and looking for better performance, presence positioning of ingredients seems to have higher choice shares.Research limitations/implicationsThe research has implications for product development, promotions, labeling and packaging, showing the positive influence of absence positioning of unknown ingredients.Practical implicationsMarketers may emphasize the absence of unknown ingredients in their products instead of following a strategy that highlights the inclusion of them.Originality/valueTo the authors’ extant knowledge, this research is an initial attempt to understand how consumers react to promotion of product ingredients. In addition, it contributes to the literature in unknown attributes by showing that absence positioning of certain types of ingredients is perceived better than presence framing of them.

A new approach to examining the extraction process of Zhishi and Zhiqiao considering the synergistic effect of complex mixtures by PAMPA

Zhishi (ZS) and Zhiqiao (ZQ) are two important traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) that exert various pharmacological functions due to their active ingredients. However, the oral absorption of these ingredients requires further study. At the early drug discovery stage, the high-throughput parallel artificial membrane permeability assay (PAMPA) is one of the most frequently used to predict transcellular passive absorption in in-vitro models. This study aims to establish a new approach to examine an optimal extraction process that can take into account not only the concentration of active ingredients but also the overall absorption properties of the mixtures extracted from TCMs. A high-performance liquid chromatography triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry (HPLC-QqQ-MS/MS) method was validated for the determination of the effective permeability value (Pe) applied to the above experimental medium. The PAMPA experiment showed that certain active ingredients such as diosmin, rhoifolin, eriocitrin, narirutin, naringin, hesperidin and neohesperidin were not detected in the permeability assay of mono-constituents but were well detected and achieved a better absorption in the permeability assay of the mixture, indicating that certain unknown ingredients may act as cosolvents to improve the solubility or permeability of other ingredients. Furthermore, solid phase extraction (SPE) as an enrichment and purification process enhances absorption. In the present study, a novel in vitro approach was developed to decipher the potential role of TCMs in global absorption, and the extraction process for complex TCMs was described and systematically optimized.

Development of black ink for calligraphy purpose in the production of Al-quran

Commercialised calligraphy inks are currently formulated for general purposes and is not to be practiced solely for the writings of Al-Quran. Thus the usage on Al-Quran is uncertain due to the unknown ingredients used. The virtue of this work is to develop halal and genuine formulations of black inks for calligraphy purpose in the production of Al-Quran manuscript. The black ink produced is required to have few properties; rich solid black, soft handling, fast drying time, non-lifting, non-feathering and waterproof. Pigment used include graphene, charcoal and lampblack. The binders are shellac and acrylic emulsion while solvent used are glycerol and ethanol. From the chosen pigments, binders and solvent, 19 formulation of inks were developed by manipulating the type and amount of each element. Evaluation of all 19 inks produced were done by an expert calligrapher using a professional scale. From the evaluation, one ink was chosen to have the best characteristics of an ink (ink code S9) with formulation of 0.3 g lampblack and 13 mL shellac. The produced black ink has fulfilled the requirement by the calligraphy expert.

Inhibition of nitrification process by seed oil from Acrocomia totai palm tree

ABSTRACTNitrification inhibitory properties of plant substances offer potential benefits for agricultural applications. In this study, hexane-extracted seed oil, and 10, 20, and 30 mg/pot dry powder of seed exocarp and mesocarp from Acrocomia totai were applied in a quick nitrification bioassay for 24 or 50 hr, as well as for 4 weeks laboratory soil incubation, to investigate their effects on nitrification process. Results showed that applied oil concentrations significantly reduced nitrification rates. The extent of inhibition was increased with the oil concentrations from 5 to 25 µl in both experiments. The exocarp and mesocarp powders also inhibited nitrification, but it was not as high as oil-induced inhibition. Analysis of oil fatty acids showed that oil consisted of 71%, 26%, and 3% of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids, respectively. This suggests that fatty acids or some unknown ingredients in crude oil could be the responsible inhibiting compound.

Aims and Scopes of the Special Issue: Foundations of Astrophysics and Cosmology

From the infinitesimal scale of particle physics to the cosmic scale of the universe, there have been spectacular advances in physics during the past century. The understanding of the universe is largely based on electromagnetic observations. As photons are the messengers, it is very important for fundamental physics to test the foundations of electromagnetism. The same stands for gravitation, the dominant interaction at large scale, for which we have just witnessed the opening of the high frequency gravitational wave window. The basic properties of the Universe are often believed to be well understood, with only minor adjustments left in front of us. The observations which may represent a problem are interpreted to make them concordant or treated as peculiarities to be later dealt within the framework of an otherwise correct model. Further, assuming our current description of gravity and electromagnetism, we sometimes run into extremely complex and sophisticated cosmological models, partly based on purposely built “dark” or unknown ingredients. Ironically, we are awkwardly confronted with a largely unknown universe, and yet we adopt the term “precision cosmology”. Indeed, cosmology faces puzzling observations. First, galactic rotation curves, lensing and clustering do not appear to be generated by conventional baryonic matter. Second, it is commonly, although not universally, accepted that cosmic expansion is accelerating. We are clearly still facing aspects of the universe that we do not understand. While the standard approach might lead to the ultimate answers as promised, concurrently the scientific community has to explore other avenues. Comparing alternative and standard views, it is the sole way that science can advance. Thus, a debate on the foundations and on the theories of physics with a bearing on cosmology, or conversely a debate on cosmology (theoretical or observational) with a bearing on the foundations and theories of physics are the two tracks along which we collected these four contributions, while others may follow. In this issue, the papers deal with massive photons, the microwave background, the cosmological red shift and inflation.

Potential for identifying plant-based toxins on San hunter-gatherer arrowheads

&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; The antiquity of the use of hunting poisons has received much attention in recent years. In this paper we present the results of a pilot study designed to detect the presence of organic compounds, typically of less than 1200 Da, from poisonous plants that may have been used as hunting poisons in the past. We used ultra-performance liquid chromatography connected to a Synapt G2 high-resolution MS-QTOF mass spectrometer (UPLC-QTOF-MS) to provisionally identify plant-based toxins present in (1) extracts of fresh plant material, (2) a blind control recipe consisting of three plant ingredients and (3) a Hei||om arrow poison of unknown ingredients. Although not all expected toxic compounds were identified, those that were identified compared favourably with those reported in the literature and confirmed through databases, specifically the Dictionary of Natural Products and ChemSpider. MS/MS fragmentation patterns and accurate mass were used for tentative identification of compounds because archaeological residues usually contain insufficient material for unambiguous identification using nuclear magnetic resonance. We highlight the potential of this method for accurately identifying plant-based toxins present on archaeological artefacts and unique (albeit non-toxic) chemical markers that may allow one to infer the presence of toxic plant ingredients in arrow poisons. Any chemical study of archaeological material should consider the unique environmental degradative factors and be sensitive to the oxidative by-products of toxic compounds.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; Significance: &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; Methodology is presented for the identification of ancient plant-based arrow poisons.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;