L-arginine is a radioprotector for hematopoietic progenitor cells.

L-arginine is shown to protect hematopoietic progenitor (32D cl 3) cells from death due to exposure to γ radiation ((137)Cs). Some of the other intermediates in the urea cycle, namely ornithine and citrulline, plus urea itself, were not found to have any significant impact on cell survival after irradiation. Intriguingly, supplementation of irradiated cells with L-arginine results in decreased production of peroxynitrite, suggesting that suppression of superoxide generation by nitric oxide synthase in one or more microenvironments is an important factor in the observed radioprotection.

Aflatoxins and growth impairment: a review.

Aflatoxins, fungal toxins produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus in a variety of food crops, are well known as potent human hepatocarcinogens. Relatively less highlighted in the literature is the association between aflatoxin and growth impairment in children. Foodborne aflatoxin exposure, especially through maize and groundnuts, is common in much of Africa and Asia--areas where childhood stunting and underweight are also common, due to a variety of possibly interacting factors such as enteric diseases, socioeconomic status, and suboptimal nutrition.

Evaluating the technical feasibility of aflatoxin risk reduction strategies in Africa.

Public health interventions must be readily accepted by their target populations to have any meaningful impact and must have financial and infrastructural support to be feasible in the parts of the world where they are most needed. At the same time, these interventions must be assessed for potential unintended consequences, either to the environment or to human health. In this paper, we evaluate the technical feasibility of interventions to control aflatoxin risk, to be potentially deployed in parts of Africa where aflatoxin exposure poses a significant public health concern.