vitamin-b-12 and Plant-Poisoning

To determine whether oral cobalt supplements could modify the clinical onset of annual ryegrass toxicity, groups (n = 5) of sheep were dosed orally with 0, 4 or 16 mg cobalt/day. After 3 weeks on this treatment, toxic ryegrass seed was added to their feed to provide 0, 0.15 and 0.30 mg corynetoxins/kg body weight, daily. Sheep receiving cobalt ingested 30% more toxin than did unsupplemented sheep before clinical signs developed (P = 0.03). There was no significant difference between groups receiving 4 and 16 mg cobalt. The results showed that cobalt delayed, but did not prevent, the onset of clinical signs of annual ryegrass toxicity.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Animal Feed; Animals; Aspartate Aminotransferases; Brain Diseases; Cobalt; Drug Tolerance; Glutamate Dehydrogenase; Glycolipids; Liver Failure; Lolium; Male; Plant Poisoning; Seeds; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Toxins, Biological; Vitamin B 12

Dried tansy ragwort containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids was fed as 2.5% of a complete (control) diet to Hereford steers, with and without (basal) a mixture of additives. The additives provided a dietary supplement equivalent to 0.1% ethoxyquin, 1% methionine hydroxy analog, 2% MgO, 2.7 mg of vitamin B6/kg of diet, 50 micrograms of vitamin B12/kg of diet, 0.45 g of folic acid/kg of diet, and 0.2 g of cobalt/kg of diet. The additives did not alter tansy ragwort toxicity substantially, as assessed by liver histologic changes, sulfobromophthalein clearance rate, and serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activity. After 281 days, 1 of 4 steers fed the basal diet was alive, whereas 3 of 4 steers in the basal plus additives group were alive, suggesting some protective activity. The chronic lethal dose of tansy ragwort in steers was 3.6% of initial body weight.

Topics: Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Disease Susceptibility; Ethoxyquin; Magnesium Oxide; Methionine; Plant Poisoning; Pyridoxine; Vitamin B 12

Supplementation of the diets of rats with branched chain amino acids (BCAA: leucine, isoleucine, valine) did not alter their susceptibility to chronic poisoning by tansy ragwort (Senecio jacobaea), which contains hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA). Phenobarbital in the diet, which alters liver microsomal enzyme activity, also did not alter susceptibility to PA poisoning. A combination of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), cysteine and BCAA did increase (P less than .05) survival time of rats fed tansy ragwort. Dietary BHA and cysteine increased the survival time of rats injected with the PA monocrotaline, with evidence that addition of vitamin B12 and folic acid improved the effectiveness of this treatment. In a chronic feeding trial with tansy ragwort, a combination of BHA and cysteine increased (P less than .05) the survival times of rats, showing protective activity against PA poisoning. A mixture of B-complex vitamins, or vitamin B12-folic acid, was not effective in improving the response.

Topics: Amino Acids; Animal Feed; Animals; Anisoles; Body Weight; Butylated Hydroxyanisole; Cysteine; Folic Acid; Food, Fortified; Male; Monocrotaline; Plant Poisoning; Plants, Toxic; Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Rodent Diseases; Senecio; Vitamin B 12; Vitamin B Complex

Dried tansy ragwort, which contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, was fed as 10% of a complete diet to ponies, with and without a mixture of additives. The additives provided a dietary supplement equivalent to 1% cysteine, 0.75% butylated hydroxyanisole, 200 micrograms of vitamin B12/kg of feed, and 5 mg of folic acid/kg of feed. The additives did not alter tansy ragwort toxicity, as assessed by survival time, liver changes, sulfobromophthalein (BSP) clearance rate, serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activity, and plasma amino acid patterns. In ponies fed tansy ragwort, BSP clearance rate was a sensitive indicator of liver damage, and decreased to about 20% of control values. gamma-Glutamyl transpeptidase activities showed considerable variability, but generally were elevated in animals fed tansy ragwort. Liver iron and copper concentrations increased, and liver zinc concentrations decreased in tansy ragwort-fed ponies. Plasma amino acid patterns in tansy ragwort-fed ponies showed changes typical of those observed in liver disease.

Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Anisoles; Butylated Hydroxyanisole; Cysteine; Horse Diseases; Horses; Plant Poisoning; Vitamin B 12

Topics: Amblyopia; Biotransformation; Cyanides; Diet; Humans; Plant Poisoning; Vitamin B 12; Vitamin B 12 Deficiency

Topics: Alkaloids; Animals; Cobalt; Liver; Liver Function Tests; Plant Poisoning; Pyrrolidines; Rumen; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Vitamin B 12

Topics: Animals; Cobalt; Female; Infertility, Female; Liver; Plant Poisoning; Selenium; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Vitamin B 12