Effects of feeding ponderosa pine needles during pregnancy: comparative studies with bison, cattle, goats, and sheep.
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Four experiments were conducted to determine the effect of feeding dried pine needles (Pinus ponderosa; PN) on the abortion rate of ruminants. In Exp. 1, cattle were fed 5.4 kg of PN daily for 21 d starting at 116, 167, 215, or 254 d of pregnancy. The PN did not cause abortions when started at 116 d; thereafter, the percentage of cows that aborted increased linearly, and the interval to abortion decreased linearly (both P < .01); all cows fed PN beginning at 254 d aborted. In Exp. 2, cattle were fed .7, 1.4, or 2.7 kg of PN for 21 d or 2.7 kg for 1 or 3 d. Sheep and goats were fed .8 and .5 kg of PN, respectively, starting at 121 d of pregnancy. The PN induced some abortions in cattle when fed for 1 (11%) or 3 (30%) d, but the abortion rate was greater (P < .01) when the PN were fed for longer periods of time (80, 90, and 100% aborted in 19, 17, and 10 d for .7-, 1.4-, and 2.7-kg doses, respectively). No goats or sheep aborted in response to PN feeding. Pregnancy rates during the next breeding season for cows that aborted in response to the PN were slightly higher than rates for control cows (94 vs 87%). In Exp. 3, buffalo (Bison bison) and cattle were fed 2.25 kg of PN from the same collection. Abortions were induced in all buffalo and cattle that were fed PN.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) (+info)
Daffodil toxicosis in an adult cat.
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A domestic longhair cat with a 3-day history of lethargy and vomiting after ingesting dried daffodil stems (Narcissus spp.) was severely hypothermic (33.0 degrees C), with bradycardia (78 beats/ min) and hypotension. Treatment with atropine, dexamethasone, fluid therapy, and supportive care resulted in a complete recovery by 6 days after exposure. (+info)
Summer pheasant's eye (Adonis aestivalis) poisoning in three horses.
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Three horses died as a result of eating grass hay containing summer pheasant's eye (Adonis aestivalis L.), a plant containing cardenolides similar to oleander and foxglove. A 9-year-old thoroughbred gelding, a 20-year-old appaloosa gelding, and a 5-year-old quarter horse gelding initially presented with signs of colic 24-48 hours after first exposure to the hay. Gastrointestinal gaseous distension was the primary finding on clinical examination of all three horses. Two horses became moribund and were euthanatized 1 day after first showing clinical signs, and the third horse was euthanatized after 4 days of medical therapy. Endocardial hemorrhage and gaseous distension of the gastrointestinal tract were the only necropsy findings in the first two horses. On microscopic examination, both horses had scattered foci of mild, acute myocardial necrosis and neutrophilic inflammation associated with endocardial and epicardial hemorrhage. The third horse that survived for 4 days had multifocal to coalescing, irregular foci of acute, subacute, and chronic myocardial degeneration and necrosis. A. aestivalis (pheasant's eye, summer adonis) was identified in the hay. Strophanthidin, the aglycone of several cardenolides present in Adonis spp., was detected by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-mass spectrometry in gastrointestinal contents from all three horses. Although Adonis spp. contain cardiac glycosides, cardiac lesions have not previously been described in livestock associated with consumption of adonis, and this is the first report of adonis toxicosis in North America. (+info)
Hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) poisoning in cattle: update and experimental induction of disease.
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Hairy vetch poisoning (vetch-associated disease) of cattle is a generalized disease characterized pathologically by infiltration of skin and many internal organs by monocytes, lymphocytes, plasma cells, and often eosinophils and multinucleated giant cells and clinically by dermatitis, pruritus, often diarrhea, wasting, and high mortality. The disease was experimentally reproduced in an adult Angus female that had recovered from the natural disease 1 year earlier. She developed dermatitis on the 11th day of vetch feeding, and despite withdrawal from the vetch diet on the 12th day, death occurred 24 days after first day of vetch feeding. The cow developed lymphocytosis and hyperproteinemia. The results of other hematologic evaluations, blood chemical profiles, urinalysis, and cutaneous hypersensitivity tests using vetch lectin were normal. Lymphocyte blastogenesis studies with vetch lectin were not interpretable. Necropsy revealed gross lesions characteristic of the disease in the skin, heart, kidney, adrenal, and lymphoid tissues. Microscopically there was typical cellular infiltration in those organs and in the thyroid, liver, pancreas, salivary and mammary glands, urinary bladder, corpus luteum, and cerebral meninges. Cutaneous apocrine gland necrosis was present. The inflammatory reaction has qualities of a type-IV hypersensitivity reaction. Hypersensitivity may occur when constituents of the ingested plant are absorbed and act as antigens that sensitize lymphocytes and evoke the multisystemic granulomatous inflammatory response that characterizes the disease. Alternatively, vetch lectin may directly activate T lymphocytes to initiate the cellular response. Vetch-like diseases have been associated with a variety of diets that did not contain hairy vetch.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) (+info)
The effect of natural toxins on reproduction in livestock.
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Reproductive efficiency is the most important economic factor in livestock production. Thus, the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal regulatory axis, accessory sexual organ functionality, and the complex events involved in fertilization, implantation, and embryonic and fetal development may be sensitive to therapeutic agents, environmental pollutants, and natural toxicants. There are many factors that adversely affect reproduction, one of which is toxic substances in the diets of animals. Toxic materials can affect reproductive success by causing abortions, interfering with libido, estrus, oogenesis, or spermatogenesis, causing emaciation and subsequent abnormal mating behavior, birth defects, and increasing the time between parturition and rebreeding. Examples of natural toxicants in poisonous plants interfering with reproduction are numerous. Abortion in livestock from locoweeds, ponderosa pine needles, broom snakeweeds, fescue, and others are reported in studies. Selenium and seleniferous forage inhibit estrus in cattle and swine. Emaciation and temporary illness from sneezeweeds, bitterweed, locoweed, larkspur, lupines, and others may interfere with mating. Embryonic loss and birth defects from Veratrum, lupines, locoweeds, poison hemlock, and so on, may occur. As suggested, toxins have many diverse and economically adverse effects on reproductive performance in livestock. (+info)
Effects of fescue toxicosis on reproduction in livestock.
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Fescue toxicosis in livestock is due to ingestion of endophyte (Acremonium coenophialum) -infected tall fescue. Understanding mechanisms responsible for decreased calving and growth rates, delayed onset of puberty, and impaired function of corpora lutea in heifers at puberty consuming endophyte-infected fescue is an emerging field in reproductive toxicology. The condition decreases overall productivity through a reduction in reproductive efficiency, reduced weight gains, and lowered milk production. Reproduction in cattle may be further compromised by winter coat retention, increased susceptibility to high environmental temperatures, and light intolerance. Endocrine effects in steers associated with infected tall fescue include reduced prolactin and melatonin secretions and altered neurotransmitter metabolism in the hypothalamus, the pituitary, and pineal glands. Ewes have decreased prolactin and lengthened intervals from introduction of the ram until conception. The endophyte induces prolonged gestation, thickened placentas, large, weak foals, dystocia, and agalactia in pregnant mares. Ergot peptide alkaloids, produced by the endophyte, are suggested as the primary cause of fescue toxicosis. These compounds reduce prolactin, increase body temperatures, and have powerful vasoconstrictive effects. Neurohormonal imbalances of prolactin and melatonin, with restricted blood flow to internal organs, may be the principal causes of aberrant reproduction, growth, and maturation in livestock consuming endophyte-infected tall fescue. (+info)
Ponderosa pine needle-induced parturition in cattle.
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Needles of the Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) induce premature parturition in cattle when ingested during late pregnancy, especially during the third trimester. The closer to term, the more likely that pine needles will induce parturition. Experiments were designed to describe the clinical signs and behavior associated with ingestion of pine needles. Pine needles adversely affected only pregnant cows and did not seem to affect nonpregnant, cycling cows, sheep, goats, or rabbits. Premature parturition was more likely if cows ingested the needles after the 8th mo of pregnancy, if they ingested pine needles over a period of 3 d or more, and if cows ate a relatively large amount of pine needles (about 2.2 to 2.7 kg/d). A synthetic progesterone, melangesterol acetate, and a prostaglandin inhibitor (ketoprofen) seemed to be of some prophylactic benefit; however, further research is required to assess the practicality of the approach and the magnitude of the benefit. Ponderosa pine bark and new-growth branch tips, which seem to be more potent inducers of premature parturition, may be useful in the extraction and identification of the parturifacient component(s). (+info)
Effects of Ponderosa pine needle ingestion of uterine vascular function in late-gestation beef cows.
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Consumption of Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) needles (PN) by beef cows during late gestation results in premature delivery in association with profound constriction of the caruncular arterial bed. Further, PN extracts and plasma from PN-fed cows increase uterine arterial tone in vitro. Uterine arterial tone is a measure of the arterial resistance to stretch and controls the baseline rate of flow through the vascular bed. Uterine arterial tone results from the uptake of extracellular Ca2+ into smooth muscle cells through specific membrane channels called potential sensitive channels. Functional potential sensitive channels remain open for prolonged periods after activation, allowing a continuous uptake of Ca2+ and the maintenance of uterine arterial tone. Recent evidence from our laboratory has demonstrated that a group of estrogen metabolites produced by the placenta and(or) endometrium, called catechol estrogens, inhibits Ca2+ uptake through the potential sensitive channels. During gestation, progressive decreases in uterine arterial tone are observed, with resultant increases in uterine arterial blood flow. Thus, the continuous production of catechol estrogens may be necessary to maintain the pronounced uterine vasodilation that is required for fetal survival. Ponderosa pine needle extracts exhibit antiestrogenic activity, as evidenced by their inhibition of estrogen-induced uterine hyperemia. Data from our laboratory show that after consumption of PN by beef cows during late gestation, uterine arterial blood flow progressively decreased to less than 50% of prefeeding rates before premature delivery of a live calf.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) (+info)