Aconitine is a highly poisonous C₁₉-diterpenoid alkaloid identified and isolated from the species of the genus Aconitum. Aconitine is indicated in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and, due to its neurotoxic effects, is a very effective drug in pain release. A total of 101 relevant scientific papers were manually searched on the Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, Google Scholar, PubMed and Dovepress databases and in the books available in the library of the Department of Natural Sciences, the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest, Pitesti University Centre, Romania. In combination treatments, aconitine shows antiarrhythmic and anti-inflammatory activity, a synergistic antiproliferative effect and decreased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, an improved biodistribution and bioavailability. Additionally, the entrapment of aconitine in engineered nanoparticles represents a promising method for reducing the toxicity of this alkaloid. This review provides, for the first time, a comprehensive picture of the knowledge and research on the synergistic, additive and antagonistic effects of aconitine in combination treatments applied in vivo or in vitro. The summarized studies represent important clues in addressing the multitude of knowledge, which can find their utility in practical and clinical applications.

This paper contributes to the ecotoxicological risk assessment of the Actellic 50 EC insecticide (with 50% pirimiphos-methyl as the active substance) tested on non-target organisms. The insecticide concentrations tested were the same for all organisms (0.1, 0.01, and 0.001 mg L⁻¹ of Actellic 50 EC), with an exposure of 3–5–21 days for plants and 4–5–14 days for animals. The non-target organisms tested were both plants (wheat and two ferns) and animals (the Prussian carp and marsh frog tadpoles). The tested insecticide significantly inhibited the growth of roots in wheat, a result that was also confirmed by a microbiotest application (62% root growth inhibition in sorghum and 100% germination inhibition in white mustard and garden cress). In ferns, even for the lowest concentration, the percentage of germinated spores was inhibited by 40% for Asplenium scolopendrium. The recorded toxicological effects of Actellic 50 EC upon the Prussian carp included a decrease in the respiratory rate and oxygen consumption, an increase in the number of erythrocytes and leukocytes, and an increase in blood glucose levels. The highest concentration (0.1 mg L⁻¹ of Actellic 50 EC) caused a 50% decrease in the survival rate of marsh frog tadpoles after 5 days of exposure, negatively affecting body volume and length. Given the high degree of toxicity of the insecticide Actellic 50 EC, we recommend continuing investigations on non-target species, including both plants and animals, as the sub-chronic effects are quite little known in the scientific literature.

The toxic action of the Actara 25 WG insecticide (it contains 25% thiamethoxam as an active substance) in non-lethal doses was studied in two species of aquatic organisms—the Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio) and the marsh frog (Pelophylax ridibundus)—at two thermal levels, 6–8 °C (low temperature) and 18–20 °C (room temperature), respectively. In the Prussian carp, we recorded decreases in oxygen consumption and stimulation of the respiratory rhythm, changes that were more pronounced in the case of intoxicated fish and when the species were kept at room temperature. The histopathology of the lung in the frog illustrated the thickening of the conjunctival septum, an increase in the number of mucous cells, and an increase in the ratio between the diameter of the nucleus and the diameter of the pneumocyte. All of these changes were more pronounced in the animals kept at higher temperature. Our study looks at the extent to which temperature changes can influence the ability of poikilothermic organisms to withstand the presence of toxic substances in the environment as a result of the impact of the use of insecticides in agriculture. The two tested organisms are a common presence for the study area, which was affected in the last decade by climate change.

Ferns, amphibians, and fish are groups of nontarget organisms affected by many types of pesticides that end up in the environment. This chapter aims to approach the following themes: the influence of different pesticides on the spore germination process and on the differentiation of their gametophyte; aspects regarding the impact of some pesticides on breathing in fish (physiology and histopathology at the branchial level), as well as a series of effects at the hematological and biochemical levels; and changes of some hematological, biochemical, and structural parameters in amphibians. Species that are not directly targeted by the action of the pesticide in the environment, ferns can be used in their gametophyte stage, young or mature sporophyte in different biotests to evaluate the risk associated with these substances. The biochemical, hemathological, and histopathological changes recorded in both fish and amphibians can be considered biomarkers of pesticide pollution.

Introduction: The clinical implementation of noninvasive tests for liver fibrosis assessment has attracted increasing attention, particularly for diagnosing advanced fibrosis (≥F3). This observational study aimed to evaluate the stratification accuracy of nine direct and seven indirect biomarkers across four etiologies: chronic hepatitis B (CHB), chronic hepatitis C (CHC), alcoholic liver cirrhosis (ALC), and nonalcoholic liver cirrhosis (NALC). Materials and Methods: Our study was conducted on 116 participants, including 96 with chronic liver disease (16 CHB, 15 CHC, 49 ALC, and 16 NALC) and 20 healthy controls. The values of direct (aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, total bilirubin, serum albumin, platelet count, international normalized ratio, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, CD5 antigen-like, and transforming growth factor-beta 1) and indirect non-serological biomarkers (De Ritis ratio, albumin–bilirubin score, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase-to-platelet ratio, aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet-ratio index, fibrosis-4 index, INR-to-platelet ratio, and fibrosis quotient) were analyzed for their discriminative power in fibrosis stratification. Results: Statistical analyses revealed a significant correlation (0.05 level; two-tailed), and AUC 95% CI ranged within 0.50–1.00 between the direct and indirect biomarker values across all etiologies. Among the evaluated biomarkers, the recorded AUC was 0.998 in CHB for APRI, 0.981 in CHC for FIB-4, and 1.000 in ALC and NALC for APRI and AST, respectively, while CD5L consistently achieved an AUC of 1.000 across all etiologies. Conclusions: These findings suggest that applying a multifactorial approach in liver pathology may improve diagnosis accuracy compared to the use of individual biomarkers and can provide data that may inform the development of clinically applicable mathematical models.