lolitrem-b and Plant-Poisoning

To investigate the effects of lolitrem B intoxication on renal K(+) secretion in response to increased tubular flow rates.. Results are derived from a repeated measure pilot study of seven horses fed non-perennial ryegrass feed for a week prior to exposing them to perennial ryegrass seed and hay that contained an average of 2 ppm lolitrem B. At the end of the control and treatment period frusemide (1 mg/kg I/V) was administered and serial fractional excretion of K(+)(FEK(+)) and fractional excretion of Na(+)(FENa(+)) calculated. Baseline concentration of aldosterone in plasma, serum K(+)concentration and feed K(+) concentration were also compared.. Key findings included a reduced change in FEK(+) from 0 to 15 minutes in response to frusemide administration (p=0.022, Wilcoxon signed-rank test) and a reduced baseline concentration of aldosterone in plasma (p=0.022, Wilcoxon signed-rank test) during the treatment period compared with the control.. Results suggest that lolitrem B intoxication reduced flow-mediated K(+) secretion and interfered with aldosterone production or secretion. However, further investigation is required to validate these findings and to further elucidate the underlying pathophysiology.. Lolitrem B intoxication in horses may cause disruption to electrolyte handling in addition to neurological deficits.

Topics: Animals; Diuretics; Female; Furosemide; Horse Diseases; Horses; Indole Alkaloids; Kidney; Kidney Diseases; Lolium; Male; Mycotoxins; Plant Poisoning; Plants, Toxic; Potassium; Seeds

Perennial ryegrass staggers is purported to be a common neurological mycotoxicosis of horses but the case description lacks detail and evidence.. To describe the clinical syndrome of lolitrem B intoxication in horses, limiting tests to those that are applicable to clinical practice, and to assess the potential value of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests for lolitrem B in horse body fluids.. Seven horses in 2 separate groups were fed perennial ryegrass seed and hay containing 2 ppm lolitrem B. Paired data were collected prior to and after 2 weeks exposure to lolitrem B, including video-documented neurological examination and clinical examination.. All horses developed a variable degree of tremor and ataxia when exposed to lolitrem B. Tremor depended on the level of activity and included a subtle, rapid tremor of the eyeball. Ataxia was exaggerated by blindfolding and primarily involved a truncal sway and irregular, but predictable, limb placements. No change was detected in urine lolitrem B levels and, although plasma lolitrem B increased during the treatment period, levels did not correlate with the severity of clinical signs displayed. Limb swelling, heel lesions and serous nasal discharge were also observed in horses most severely intoxicated.. The clinical effects of lolitrem B intoxication in horses primarily involve action-related tremors and symmetrical vestibular ataxia. Ergovaline may have caused the limb swelling, heel lesions and serous nasal discharge. Plasma ELISA for lolitrem B may be of diagnostic use in the future.. This study provides a clearer appreciation of the clinical signs and variability of perennial ryegrass intoxication in horses.

Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Ataxia; Ergotamines; Female; Horse Diseases; Horses; Indole Alkaloids; Lolium; Male; Mycotoxins; Plant Poisoning; Plants, Toxic; Seeds; Tremor

Ryegrass staggers was diagnosed in a group of young stock on a dairy farm in the Netherlands. The cattle were fed on ryegrass hay originating from a farm in the region. The typical clinical signs observed in this herd were difficulty in rising, hypermetria of especially the front legs, incoordination, and tremors of the head and neck muscles. The morbidity of the illness was about 80 percent and there was no mortality. Four weeks after withdrawal of the hay, the animals recovered completely. The diagnosis was confirmed by demonstrating high concentrations of Lolitrem-B (1.7 ppm) in the hay. This neurotoxin is usually produced by the endophyte Neotyphodium lolii with which ryegrass may be infected. This is the first case of ryegrass staggers in cows reported in the Netherlands since 1992.

Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Female; Food Contamination; Fungi; Indole Alkaloids; Lolium; Mycotoxins; Netherlands; Plant Poisoning

Fescue foot, summer syndrome, reproductive problems, and ryegrass staggers are all diseases of livestock related to endophyte toxins in pasture grasses. Range finding experiments and case studies of fescue foot relative to ergovaline toxin found in endophyte infected tall fescue and lolitrem B present in endophyte infected perennial ryegrass were conducted. Within 42 d of initiating a feeding trial with chopped tall fescue straw containing 825 ppb ergovaline and at environmental temperatures of 15.9 C clinical signs of fescue foot were seen in cattle. Sheep on tall fescue pastures in November consuming feed with 540 ppb ergovaline and at environmental temperatures of 7.8 C developed fescue foot in 21 d while sheep on the adjacent field in the previous 2 mo with environmental temperatures of 16.6 C and 12.8 C and 458 ppb ergovaline in the pasture grasses did not. In a field outbreak of fescue foot affecting 42/425 feeder lambs in November, the ergovaline of sample pasture grasses had a mean concentration of 813 ppb. Perennial ryegrass staggers was seen in 42/237 feeder lambs when mean lolitrem B in the sampled grass was 2,135 ppb. Overgrazing both tall fescue and ryegrass fields increased probability of clinical disease since the highest levels of toxin were found in the crowns and basal leaf sheaths of tall fescue and perennial ryegrass respectively. Based on these findings, ergovaline dietary levels of 400 to 750 ppb to cattle and 500 to 800 ppb to sheep and lolitrem B levels of 1,800 to 2,000 ppb in feed for both species are approximated threshold values for disease. Cold environmental temperatures are equally important to toxin concentrations in precipitating fescue foot disease.

Topics: Acremonium; Animal Feed; Animals; Cattle; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Cold Temperature; Ergotamines; Female; Foot Diseases; Indole Alkaloids; Male; Mycotoxicosis; Mycotoxins; Plant Poisoning; Plants, Toxic; Poaceae; Retrospective Studies; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Tremor

From 1997 to 1999, 29 cases of disorders were detected in cattle and horses that had been fed ryegrass straw imported from the U.S.A. These animals showed symptoms resembling ryegrass staggers and the clinical signs disappeared after removal of the straw. Endophytic hyphae were detected in the seeds of all straw samples that were responsible for the clinical cases. Lolitrem B concentrations in the straw ranged between 972 and 3740 ppb. Ergovaline concentrations were between 355 and 1300 ppb. Even though the concentrations of lolitrem B were lower than the toxic threshold proposed by Oregon State University in better part of the cases, our observations suggest the possibility that lolitrem B lower than the proposed threshold can bring disorders to sensitive individuals.

Topics: Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Horse Diseases; Horses; Indole Alkaloids; Mycotoxicosis; Mycotoxins; Neurotoxins; Plant Poisoning; Poaceae; Seeds

A group of 6- to 8-month-old calves developed head tremors, stiff gait, and staggering after consuming ryegrass straw that contained 3,711 micrograms of lolitrem-B/ kg. Signs were consistent with ryegrass staggers syndrome. At necropsy, all calves examined had atypical interstitial pneumonia, with marked emphysema and bullae. Infectious organisms and pneumotoxins were not identified. Experimentally, feeding the same ryegrass straw to age-matched calves induced similar neurologic signs, but did not result in pneumonic lesions. The high concentration of lolitrem-B in the straw or other, undefined factors, such as feed changes, may have contributed to the atypical interstitial pneumonia in the naturally exposed calves.

Topics: Acremonium; Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Female; Indole Alkaloids; Lolium; Lung; Male; Mycotoxins; Neurotoxins; Plant Poisoning; Pneumonia, Atypical Interstitial, of Cattle; Syndrome

Topics: Agriculture; Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Female; Fungi; Indole Alkaloids; Lolium; Mycotoxins; Neurotoxins; Plant Poisoning; Pregnancy; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Veterinary Medicine

To elaborate the diagnosis of rye-grass intoxication in a stallion demonstrating a neurotoxic syndrome characterized by ataxia and incoordination, a number of diagnostic tests were performed. Results of both, blood chemistry and haematology gave no indication for organ-specific or systemic lesions. Chemical analysis of the hay fed to the horse revealed the presence of the mycotoxin lolitrem B in concentrations consistent with those described in sheep and cattle with similar symptoms. Thus, it was concluded that the animals demonstrated the rye-grass-stagger(RGS)-syndrome.

Topics: Animals; Horse Diseases; Horses; Indole Alkaloids; Lolium; Male; Mycotoxins; Neurotoxins; Plant Poisoning

Topics: Animals; Australia; Horse Diseases; Horses; Indole Alkaloids; Lolium; Mycotoxins; Neurotoxins; Plant Poisoning; Poaceae