Biological Effects of Toxins

Abstract

This special issue is devoted to the analysis of the effects of toxins produced by different kinds of organisms. Toxinology is the science that studies the chemical properties and biological effects of toxic substances produced or accumulated in living organisms. Probably, if one term were used to define toxinology, the word would be ‘‘diversity’’ Diversity of organisms that produce tremendously diverse chemical compounds that in turn possess diverse biological targets, such as ion channels or enzymes (acetylcholinesterase or phosphatases). An important point of this issue is that all the contributors are researchers born in Latin American countries. This fact reflects the importance and efforts that are devoted to this topic in this region. As one of the contributors stated, the extended coastal regions and coral reefs of Latin American countries are rich with biological diversity of toxin-producing organisms, like Cnidarians for example. As a consequence of the chemical diversity, the approaches that the different authors employed in their reviews are diverse. Some articles are of a biochemical and pharmacological nature, others focus on the detection and quantification of toxins in aquatic environments from a more ecotoxicological point of view. Finally, toxinology as a science opens the door for the potential therapeutics use of natural compounds, a fact well stated in several of the reviews in this issue. In the last several years, the study of marine-natural products has gained attention through improved biological screening methods (1). In several Latin American countries, zootherapy and phytotherapy, using chemicals derived directly or indirectly from animals and vegetable sources has become common practice (2). We expect in the near future that a convergence of ideas from toxinology and ethnopharmacology will develop. This last point also stresses that the discovery of molecules beneficial for human health is closely related to the preservation of the natural