Retrorsine
Retrorsine is a naturally occurring pyrrolizidine alkaloid primarily found in plants of the genus Senecio. It was first isolated from the plant Senecio retrorsus and named by the Canadian chemist Richard H.F. Manske in 1931. Known for its potent hepatotoxicity and carcinogenicity, it is a significant plant toxin affecting livestock and humans through contaminated feed and herbal products.
In biomedical research, retrorsine is used to induce selective liver injury in animal models to study liver regeneration and liver transplantation, due to its ability to block the cell cycle of host hepatocytes without killing them immediately, such as the retrorsine/partial hepatectomy model.