(1/7) Summer pheasant's eye (Adonis aestivalis) poisoning in three horses.

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)

(2/7) Cost of reproduction in a spring ephemeral species, Adonis ramosa (Ranunculaceae): carbon budget for seed production.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Spring ephemerals have a specific life-history trait, i.e. shoot growth and sexual reproduction occur simultaneously during a short period from snowmelt to canopy closure in deciduous forests. The aim of this study is to clarify how spring ephemerals invest resources for seed production within a restricted period. METHODS: In order to evaluate the cost of reproduction of a typical spring ephemeral species, Adonis ramosa, an experiment was conducted comprising defoliation treatments (intact, one-third and two-thirds leaf-cutting) and fruit manipulations (control, shading and removal) over two growing seasons. In addition, measurements were made of the movements of carbon assimilated via (13)C tracing. KEY RESULTS: Survival rate was high irrespective of treatments and manipulations. The proportion of flowering plants and plant size decreased as a result of the defoliation treatments over 2 years, but the fruit manipulations did not affect flowering activity or plant size. Seed set and seed number decreased as a result of fruit shading treatment, but the defoliation treatments did not affect current seed production. Individual seed weight also decreased in the second year due to fruit shading. The (13)C tracing experiment revealed that young fruits had photosynthetic ability and current photosynthetic products from leaves were mainly transferred to the below-ground parts, while translocation to fruit was very small even when fruit photosynthesis was restricted by the shading treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Current foliage photosynthetic products are largely stored in the below-ground parts for survival and future growth, and about one-third of the resources for seed production may be attained by fruit photosynthesis. Therefore, the trade-off between current seed production and subsequent growth is weak. The cost of seed production may be buffered by sufficient storage in the below-ground organs, effective photosynthesis under high irradiation and self-assimilation ability of fruits.  (+info)

(3/7) Evaluation of the toxicity of Adonis aestivalis in calves.

Toxicosis of Adonis aestivalis is well documented in horses, but little is known of its toxicity in cattle. A. aestivalis (summer pheasant's eye) was collected over multiple years, under different growing conditions, and at various stages of maturity, dried, and administered to calves to evaluate the toxicity of A. aestivalis in cattle. Four 300-lb Holstein, and 2 90-lb, preruminating Jersey calves were administered 1% body weight of ground A. aestivalis via a stomach tube and monitored for clinical signs for 2 weeks and 1 week, respectively. The Holstein calves were then fed 0.2 to 1% body weight A. aestivalis daily for 4 to 5 weeks. The Holstein calves had transient, mild cardiac abnormalities during the feeding trial. Mild, transient gastrointestinal and cardiac signs were noted in the preruminating calves. No gross or microscopic lesions were seen on necropsies performed at the end of the study. Based on the results of this study, cattle do not appear to be as susceptible to toxicosis from A. aestivalis as other species, such as horses and pigs.  (+info)

(4/7) Carotenoids and their fatty acid esters in the petals of Adonis aestivalis.

Carotenoids and their fatty acid esters were investigated in the petals of Adonis aestivalis by UV-VIS, (1)H-NMR, FAB-MS, and CD spectrometry. (3S,3'S)-astaxanthin (diester: 72.2%, monoester: 13.8%, free: 1.4%) and (3S)-adonirubin (monoester: 13.8%, free: 0.3%) were identified as the major components. The fatty acids esterified with astaxanthin and adonirubin were assigned as C18:0, C18:1, C16:0, C16:1, C14:0, C12:0, and C10:0 from the FAB-MS spectral data.  (+info)

(5/7) Elucidation of the pathway to astaxanthin in the flowers of Adonis aestivalis.

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(6/7) New cardenolides from the seeds of Adonis aestivalis.

Chemical investigation of the seeds of Adonis aestivalis has led to the isolation of a new cardenolide (3beta,5alpha,14beta,17beta-tetrahydroxycard-20,22-enolide) (1), two new glycosides (2, 3) of 1, and a new strophanthidin hexaglycoside (4), together with a known compound, strophanthidin 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (5). The structures of 1-4 were determined by 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopic analysis and the results of hydrolytic cleavage. The isolated compounds (1-5) were examined for their cytotoxic activity against neoplastic HSC-2, HSC-3, HSC-4, and HL-60 cells, as well as HGF, HPLF, and HPC normal cell lines. Compounds 2, 4, and 5 were found to display selective cytotoxicity toward malignant tumor cell lines. Although the morphological observations of HL-60 and HSC-2 cell deaths by 2, 4, and 5 revealed changes characteristic of apoptosis, neither DNA degradation nor activation of caspase-3 was observed. Our findings demonstrated that 2, 4, and 5 may trigger caspase-3-independent apoptotic cell death in HL-60 and HSC-2 cells.  (+info)

(7/7) Isolate identity determines plant tolerance to pathogen attack in assembled mycorrhizal communities.

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