Momordica charantia, commonly called bitter melon, is a plant belonging to Cucurbitaceae
family known for centuries for its pharmacological activities, and nutritional properties. Due …

The castor plant (Ricinus communis L.) has been known since time immemorial in traditional
medicine in the pharmacopeia of Mediterranean and eastern ancient cultures. Moreover, it is …

Ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs) are toxic N-glycosidases that depurinate eukaryotic
and prokaryotic rRNAs, thereby arresting protein synthesis during translation. RIPs are …

The treatment of some high-incidence human diseases is based on therapeutic cell killing.
In cancer this is mainly achieved by chemical drugs that are systemically administered to …

The delivery of therapeutic proteins is one of the greatest challenges in the treatment of
human diseases. In this frame, ferritins occupy a very special place. Thanks to their hollow …

Ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs) are rRNA N-glycosylases from plants (EC 3.2. 2.22)
that inactivate ribosomes thus inhibiting protein synthesis. The antiviral properties of RIPs …

Plants have evolved a variety of defense mechanisms to tackle virus attack. Endogenous
plant proteins can function as virus suppressors. Different types of proteins mediate defense …

Protein-based targeted toxins play an increasingly important role in targeted tumor
therapies. In spite of their high intrinsic toxicity, their efficacy in animal models is low. A major …

Ricin toxin is a disulfide-linked glycoprotein (AB toxin) comprising one enzymatic A chain
(RTA) and one cell-binding B chain (RTB) contained in the castor bean, a Ricinus species …

Background While the rapidly increasing global population has led to a dramatically
increased demand for the agricultural production, there have been heavy economic losses …