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ARS Home » Plains Area » Miles City, Montana » Livestock and Range Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #104768
Title: ABORTIFACIENT EFFECTS OF A UNIQUE CLASS OF VASOACTIVE LIPIDS FROM PINUS PONDEROSA NEEDLES

Author
item FORD, STEPHEN - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
item ROSAZZA, JPN - UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
item AL-MAHMOUD, M - UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
item LIN, S - UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
item FARLEY, D - UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
item Short, Robert

Submitted to: Journal of Animal Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: FORD, S.P., ROSAZZA, J., AL-MAHMOUD, M.S., LIN, S., FARLEY, D.B., SHORT, R. ABORTIFACIENT EFFECTS OF A UNIQUE CLASS OF VASOACTIVE LIPIDS FROM PINUS PONDEROSA NEEDLES. JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE. v. 77. p. 2187-2193. 1999.

Interpretive Summary: These data provide support for the usefulness of the late-pregnant guinea pig as a relatively small and inexpensive model for studying PN- induced early parturition in beef cows. Further, we have reported that a unique group of vasoactive lipids which are present in PN appear to be necessary for PN-induced early parturition in the guinea pig. The results reported here also provide rationale for the use of the guinea pig in the identification of other ingested plant toxins which are known to have an impact on production efficiency in the cow.

Technical Abstract: Ponderosa pine needle (PN) ingestion by the late pregnant cow results in decreased uterine blood flow, premature parturition and retained placentae. Further, plasma from PN-fed cows increases caruncular arterial tone in a perfused bovine placentome. When PN are extracted with CH2Cl2, and the residue is redissolved in bovine plasma, it exerts a marked tone-generating activity, while all remaining PN components in plasma exerted no vasoactivity. A novel class of vasoactive lipids was isolated from PN extracts. This paper outlines the use of the late- pregnant guinea pig (GP) to confirm the abortifacient effects of 1-12- dodecanedioyl-dimyristate (14-12-14), the most potent of these lipids tested. Study 1: on d 50 of gestation, part of the control diet was replaced with chopped PN (Diet A) or chopped PN subjected to sequential extraction with diethyl ether (Diet B); CH2Cl2 (Diet C); and methanol (Diet D). GP on diets A and B exhibited shorter (P < .05) gestation lengths and reduced (P < .05) piglet birth weights than GP on the control diet or diets C and D. Study 2: on d 50 of gestation part of the control diet was replaced with chopped CH2Cl2 extracted PN that was infiltrated with one of the following: no addition (Diet E); 14-12-14 (Diet F); or isocupressic acid, a reported abortifacient in PN (Diet G). GP consuming Diet F had shorter (P < .05) gestation lengths and reduced (P < .05) piglet birth weights when compared to GP consuming diets E or G. GP consuming diet F also exhibited a high incidence of retained placentae. These data provide evidence that a unique class of vasoactive lipids may play a role in PN-induced early parturition in the cow.