clove and Alopecia

Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala) is a leguminous tree that is nutritious forage for domestic livestock when ingested in limited amounts. Unfortunately, leucaena contains mimosine, a plant amino acid, that can be toxic when ingested at higher concentrations. Reported toxic effects include alopecia (fur loss), poor body condition, infertility, low birth weight, thyroid gland dysfunction, and organ toxicity. Originally native to Mexico and Central America, leucaena has been introduced throughout the tropics, including Berenty Reserve, Madagascar where it was planted as supplemental browse for livestock. In Berenty, a seasonal syndrome of alopecia in ringtailed lemurs (Lemur catta) is associated with eating leucaena. Although much is known about the toxic effects of leucaena and mimosine on domestic animals and humans, the systemic effects on wildlife had not been studied. In a comparison of lemurs that include leucaena in their diet and those that do not, we found that animals that ingest leucaena absorb mimosine but that ingestion does not affect body condition, cause kidney or liver toxicity, or affect the intestinal tract. Alopecia is due to mimosine's interference of the hair follicle cycle. Leucaena ingestion is associated with higher serum albumin, α-tocopherol, and thyroxine concentrations, suggesting that leucaena may provide some nutritional benefit and that lemurs can detoxify and convert mimosine to a thyroid stimulating metabolite. The primary conservation consequence of leucaena ingestion at Berenty may be increased infant mortality due to the infants' inability cling to their alopecic mothers. The widespread introduction of leucaena throughout the tropics and its rapid spread in secondary forest conditions mean that many other leaf-eating mammals may be including this tree in their diet. Thus, exposure to leucaena should be considered when wildlife health is being evaluated, and the potential effects on wildlife health should be considered when contemplating leucaena introduction into or near wildlife habitat.

Topics: Alopecia; alpha-Tocopherol; Animals; Diet; Fabaceae; Female; Hair; Kidney; Lemur; Liver; Madagascar; Male; Mimosine; Serum Albumin; Thyroxine

Coat and body mass status provide a potential noninvasive way to assess primate health status as well as the effects of seasonality, resource use and reproductive state. Coat and body condition were scored visually for 36 wild Lemur catta at the Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar, from July 2012 to March 2013. Coat quality generally increased during the wet season when resource availability increased, in contrast to that observed during the resource-depleted dry season. Alopecia frequency increased from June to December and declined between January and March. Sex differences for coat condition were only observed in January, when males had superior coat scores. Body condition did not vary by month or sex except in February, when males were larger than females. Females that birthed infants were of lower body size than individuals who did not for November and from January to March. Our results indicate visual methods effectively detect variability in coat and body condition related to seasonality and reproductive status. Such methods present a noninvasive means for assessing the impact of seasonal resource availability, stresses of infant care and reproductive state on ring-tailed lemurs, and may be useful for assessing the impacts of these factors on general health status.

Topics: Alopecia; Animals; Body Size; Female; Hair; Lemur; Madagascar; Male; Seasons; Sex Factors

Fur condition in wild ringtailed lemurs, Lemur catta, was recorded during September-November birth seasons 2001-2006 at Berenty Reserve, Madagascar. Body coat condition was scored on a scale from BS 0: full, smooth coat with guard hairs, to BS5: half or more of back and limbs hairless. Tail condition was scored from TS 0: full, to TS 5: half or more hairless. Where troop core areas included stands of Leucaena leucocephala, alopecia was dramatically more frequent than in similar areas without leucaena, including many animals with score BS5 or TS5, "bald lemur syndrome." Females' coats were worse than males', possibly related to female dominance and access to this preferred food. Tails in non-leucaena-feeding females tend to remain full, even if coats deteriorate, but with leucaena-feeding female tails are highly correlated with coat condition and equally bare. Coat and tail condition in L. catta reflected not only the dietary toxin but individual differences as well as differences between adjacent troops that may result from territorially mediated access to the environment. Leucaena contains the non-protein amino acid mimosine, a known cause of alopecia, wasting, and organ damage in livestock, although the effects are usually reversible. This is the first case of its effect in wildlife. Leucaena is an agroforestry tree introduced throughout the tropics. In high dietary concentrations leucaena might potentially affect any browsing mammal.

Topics: Alopecia; Animals; Diet; Environment; Fabaceae; Female; Hair; Health Status Indicators; Lemur; Madagascar; Male; Mimosine; Sex Factors; Tail

An index of coat condition can be a non-invasive tool for tracking health and stress at population level. Coat condition in ringtailed lemurs, Lemur catta, was recorded during September-November birth seasons of 1996, 1997, 1999, and 2001-2006 at Berenty Reserve, Madagascar. Condition was scored on a scale from 0: full, fluffy coat with guard hairs present, to 5: half or more of body hairless. Adult males did not differ overall from adult females. Coats were worse in adults than in 2-year-old subadults; 1-year-old juveniles were intermediate. Mothers and adult males lost coat condition as the season progressed: non-mother females maintained condition. Years 1999-2002 scored better coats than either 1996-1997 or 2003-2006. Lemurs in high population density areas had worse coats than in natural forest, but tourist presence had less effect than density. Monitoring coat condition in an apparently healthy population reveals differences between population segments, and in a forest fragment with limited immigration or emigration it can track progressive changes, correcting impressions of progressive improvement or degradation over time. Above all it gives a baseline for response to climate changes or eventual pathology.

Topics: Age Factors; Aging; Alopecia; Animals; Environment; Female; Hair; Health Status Indicators; Lemur; Madagascar; Male; Mothers; Population Density; Seasons; Sex Factors; Stress, Physiological