Mercury is widespread in our environment. Methylmercury, one organic form of mercury, can accumulate up the aquatic food chain and lead to high concentrations in predatory fish. When consumed by humans, contaminated fish represent a public health risk. Combustion processes, especially coal-fired power plants, are major sources of mercury contamination in the environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering regulating mercury emissions from those plants. Toxicological Effects of Methylmercury reviews the health effects of methylmercury and discusses the estimation of mercury exposure from measured biomarkers, how differences between individuals affect mercury toxicity, and appropriate statistical methods for analysis of the data and thoroughly compares the epidemiological studies available on methylmercury. Included are discussions of current mercury levels on public health and a delineation of the scientific aspects and policy decisions involved in the regulation of mercury. This report is a valuable resource for individuals interested in the public health effects and regulation of mercury. The report also provides an excellent example of the implications of decisions in the risk assessment process for a larger audience.

Reviewed and summarised research results and information from both developed and developing countries including Asia-Pacific, Australasia and other parts of the world.

Food production remains the highest agricultural priority, subject to the constraint that it be done in harmony with nature, or at least with minimum environmental pollution. The amount of fertilizer applied can be controlled using modern application techniques, including soil and crop management, guaranteeing higher economic profit and lower environmental cost. It is in such a context that the present book addresses the efficient and rational use of mineral and organic fertilizers while preserving environmental quality. The book discusses the impact on surface and groundwaters, soils and crops, and experience of nitrate leaching, denitrification, ammonia volatilization, heavy metal pollution, agricultural and urban waste management, and international and national legislation. Audience: Agronomists, environmentalists, soil and food chemists, ecologists, policy makers, and managers in the fertilizer industry concerned with the trend of public opinion.

Diet and Health examines the many complex issues concerning diet and its role in increasing or decreasing the risk of chronic disease. It proposes dietary recommendations for reducing the risk of the major diseases and causes of death today: atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (including heart attack and stroke), cancer, high blood pressure, obesity, osteoporosis, diabetes mellitus, liver disease, and dental caries.

The latest research on the health benefits and optimal processing technologies of herbs and spices This book provides a comprehensive overview of the health benefits, analytical techniques used, and effects of processing upon the physicochemical properties of herbs and spices. Presented in three parts, it opens with a section on the technological and health benefits of herbs and spices. The second part reviews the effect of classical and novel processing techniques on the properties of herbs/spices. The third section examines extraction techniques and analytical methodologies used for herbs and spices. Filled with contributions from experts in academia and industry, Herbs, Spices and Medicinal Plants: Processing, Health Benefits and Safety offers chapters covering thermal and non-thermal processing of herbs and spices, recent developments in high-quality drying of herbs and spices, conventional and novel techniques for extracting bioactive compounds from herbs and spices, and approaches to analytical techniques. It also examines purification and isolation techniques for enriching bioactive phytochemicals, medicinal properties of herbs and spices, synergy in whole-plant medicine, potential applications of polyphenols from herbs and spices in dairy products, biotic and abiotic safety concerns, and adverse human health effects and regulation of metal contaminants in terrestrial plant-derived food and phytopharmaceuticals. Covers the emerging health benefits of herbs and spices, including their use as anti-diabetics, anti-inflammatories, and anti-oxidants Reviews the effect of classical and novel processing techniques on the properties of herbs and spices Features informed perspectives from noted academics and professionals in the industry Part of Wiley's new IFST Advances in Food Science series Herbs, Spices and Medicinal Plants is an important book for companies, research institutions, and universities active in the areas of food processing and the agri-food environment. It will appeal to food scientists and engineers, environmentalists, and food regulatory agencies.

Early anthropological evidence for plant use as medicine is 60,000 years old as reported from the Neanderthal grave in Iraq. The importance of plants as medicine is further supported by archeological evidence from Asia and the Middle East. Today, around 1.4 billion people in South Asia alone have no access to modern health care, and rely instead on traditional medicine to alleviate various symptoms. On a global basis, approximately 50 to 80 thousand plant species are used either natively or as pharmaceutical derivatives for life-threatening conditions that include diabetes, hypertension and cancers. As the demand for plant-based medicine rises, there is an unmet need to investigate the quality, safety and efficacy of these herbals by the “scientific methods”. Current research on drug discovery from medicinal plants involves a multifaceted approach combining botanical, phytochemical, analytical, and molecular techniques. For instance, high throughput robotic screens have been developed by industry; it is now possible to carry out 50,000 tests per day in the search for compounds which act on a key enzyme or a subset of receptors. This and other bioassays thus offer hope that one may eventually identify compounds for treating a variety of diseases or conditions. However, drug development from natural products is not without its problems. Frequent challenges encountered include the procurement of raw materials, the selection and implementation of appropriate high-throughput bioassays, and the scaling-up of preparative procedures. Research scientists should therefore arm themselves with the right tools and knowledge in order to harness the vast potentials of plant-based therapeutics. The main objective of Plant and Human Health is to serve as a comprehensive guide for this endeavor. Volume 1 highlights how humans from specific areas or cultures use indigenous plants. Despite technological developments, herbal drugs still occupy a preferential place in a majority of the population in the third world and have slowly taken roots as alternative medicine in the West. The integration of modern science with traditional uses of herbal drugs is important for our understanding of this ethnobotanical relationship. Volume 2 deals with the phytochemical and molecular characterization of herbal medicine. Specifically, It will focus on the secondary metabolic compounds which afford protection against diseases. Lastly, Volume 3 focuses on the physiological mechanisms by which the active ingredients of medicinal plants serve to improve human health. Together this three-volume collection intends to bridge the gap for herbalists, traditional and modern medical practitioners, and students and researchers in botany and horticulture.

Since publication of the previous edition of this successful book, there have been many advances in the field of food science and metal analysis and these have been taken into account of in compiling this new edition. Data on metal levels in foods and diets have been updated with information gathered from recent international literature. More than 80% of the text has been completely rewritten and, as the addition of a new subtitle suggests, greater account is taken than in earlier editions of the importance of the nutritional properties of many of the metals that we consume. In the compilation of this cutting-edge new edition, full account has been taken of the significant advances in the ready availability of multi-element analysis, improved sample preparation procedures and a growing interest in the content of chemical species in foods. Details of several metals, not considered in depth in previous editions but now widely used in the electronic and chemical industries, have also been included. The third edition of Metal Contamination of Food is an essential reference book for food industry personnel, including those working in food processing, formation and ingredients, packaging, quality control and food safety. Nutritionists, public analysts and chemists will also find much of great use within the covers of this book. Libraries and laboratories worldwide in all universities and research establishments where food science and technology, nutrition and chemistry are studied and taught should

Food testing, Food products, Determination of content, Chemical analysis and testing, Trace element analysis, Sampling methods, Specimen preparation, Selection, Performance, Trading standards, TSS