Medical Sciences Division, Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
Fitoterapia. 2018 Nov;131:160-167. doi: 10.1016/j.fitote.2018.10.026. Epub 2018 Oct 23.
Paraquat dichloride, a herbicide used for weed and grass control, is extremely toxic to humans and animals. The mechanisms of toxicity involve the redox cycling of paraquat resulting in the generation of reactive oxygen species and the depletion of the cellular NADPH. The major cause of death in paraquat poisoning is respiratory failure due to its specific uptake by and oxidative insult to the alveolar epithelial cells and inflammation with subsequent obliterating fibrosis. Paraquat also causes selective degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, reproducing an important pathological feature of Parkinson disease. Currently, there are no antidotes for the treatment of paraquat poisoning and therapeutic management is mostly supportive and directed towards changing the disposition of the poison. The lack of effective treatments against paraquat poisoning has led to the exploration of novel compounds with antioxidant and/or anti-inflammatory properties. Recently, there is an interest in plant compounds, particularly those used in traditional medicine. Phytochemicals have been highlighted as a possible therapeutic modality for a variety of diseases due to their putative efficacies and safety. In this review, the status of plant extracts and traditional medicines in ameliorating the toxicity of paraquat is discussed.
百草枯二氯化物，一种用于除草和控制杂草的除草剂，对人类和动物具有极高的毒性。毒性的机制涉及百草枯的氧化还原循环，导致活性氧的产生和细胞 NADPH 的耗竭。百草枯中毒导致死亡的主要原因是呼吸衰竭，这是由于其被肺泡上皮细胞特异性摄取和氧化损伤以及随后的闭塞性纤维化引起的炎症所致。百草枯还会导致黑质致密部的多巴胺能神经元选择性退化，再现帕金森病的一个重要病理特征。目前，尚无治疗百草枯中毒的解毒剂，治疗管理主要是支持性的，并针对改变毒物的分布。缺乏有效的治疗方法来对抗百草枯中毒，导致人们开始探索具有抗氧化和/或抗炎特性的新型化合物。最近，人们对植物化合物，特别是那些用于传统医学的化合物产生了兴趣。由于其潜在的疗效和安全性，植物化学物质已被强调为治疗各种疾病的一种可能的治疗方法。在这篇综述中，讨论了植物提取物和传统药物在减轻百草枯毒性方面的作用。
