stilbenes and Plant-Poisoning

Kochia foliage that had tested positive to Dragendorff's reagent (presumptive alkaloids) and had elicited chronic toxicosis when fed to rats was fed to sheep to characterize early stages of kochia toxicosis and evaluate treatments that might improve tolerance. Twelve fine-wool lambs (46 +/- 9 kg BW) were fed chopped kochia hay (35%) mixed with chopped alfalfa hay (65%) for 4 wk. The kochia diet had 14.3% CP and 39.9% ADF. Dry matter intake averaged 3.4% of BW/d. Body weight did not change during 4 wk and blood serum components were not changed from values at the onset. Thereafter, kochia was increased to 50% of diet for five more weeks, during which four treatments were imposed randomly (three lambs/treatment): 1) none; 2) N-acetyl-L-cysteine plus trans-stilbene oxide, 21 and 52 mg/kg of BW, respectively, given i.p. twice weekly; 3) retinyl palmitate, 275 mg, plus alpha-tocopherol, 300 mg/lamb dosed i.m. twice weekly; and 4) zinc sulfate mixed in the feed to provide 500 mg daily. Kochia contained 4.8% oxalate. The diet with 50% kochia had 16% CP and 36% ADF, and digestibility coefficients were 59% for DM, 72% for CP, and 59% for ADF. After 5 wk, blood glucose was elevated slightly, total bilirubin was increased about 1.5-fold (P less than .05), alanine aminotransferase was elevated slightly (P less than .05), and inorganic phosphorus and urea (blood urea N) were diminished (P less than .05); other serum components, including calcium, were unchanged from initial levels (P greater than .10). Treatments had negligible effects for modifying serum signs of mild chronic toxicosis associated with kochia hay fed as 50% of diet.

Topics: Acetylcysteine; Animal Feed; Animals; Blood Chemical Analysis; Female; Male; Nutritive Value; Plant Poisoning; Plants, Toxic; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Stilbenes; Vitamin A; Vitamin E; Zinc

Livestock grazing lush Kochia scoparia (L.) Schrad, sometimes experience BW loss, hyperbilirubinemia, photosensitization, and polyuria. Animals fed kochia hay may exhibit milder or negligible signs of toxicosis but fail to utilize nutrients efficiently. To characterize early aspects of kochia toxicosis and to evaluate prospective treatments, 12 wether lambs (34 +/- 3 kg) were fed prebloom kochia hay (83% OM, 15% CP, and 6.3% total oxalate) and treated as follows: 1) no treatment; 2) drenched daily with aqueous ZnSO4 to provide 30 mg of Zn/kg of BW); 3) injected i.p. twice weekly with N-acetyl-L-cysteine (CYS) in saline (21 mg/kg of BW) plus trans-stilbene oxide (TSO) in corn oil (27 mg/kg of BW); and 4) treated as 2) plus 3). Treatments were imposed factorially (2 x 2) with three lambs per treatment. Kochia intake (ad libitum) averaged .57 kg/d (1.7% of BW) for 80 d, and digestibility of DM and CP were 44 and 59%, respectively, at wk 4, but BW loss was severe (6 to 11 kg/lamb). After 14 d, serum insulin and prolactin were decreased (P less than .05) below initial values (.48 to .11 and 102 to 28 ng/ml, respectively). Serum somatotropin increased (P less than .05) from 4.5 to 6.8 ng/ml at 4 wk. Serum total bilirubin increased threefold at 3 wk (P less than .05) and declined slightly thereafter through 10 wk. Early changes in serum enzymes reflected mild hepatotoxicosis without cholestasis, whereas histopathology (at 80 d) showed diffuse hepatocyte swelling and nephrosis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Topics: Acetylcysteine; Analysis of Variance; Animal Feed; Animals; Blood Chemical Analysis; Growth Hormone; Hormones; Insulin; Liver; Male; Nitrogen; Nutritive Value; Plant Poisoning; Plants, Toxic; Prolactin; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Stilbenes; Sulfates; Zinc; Zinc Sulfate