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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Foodborne Toxin Detection and Prevention Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #146716
Title: TREMORGENIC SYNDROME IN GOATS CAUSED BY IPOMOEA ASARIFOLIA IN NORTHEASTERN BRAZIL

Author
item MEDEIROS, ROSANE - PARAIBA UNIV. BRASIL
item BARBOSA, ROSSEMBERG - PARAIBA UNIV. BRASIL
item TABOSA, IVON - PARAIBA UNIV. BRASIL
item RIET-CORREA, FRANKLIN - PARAIBA UNIV. BRASIL
item DE BARROS, SEVERO - PELOTAS UNIV. BRASIL
item Gardner, Dale
item Molyneux, Russell

Submitted to: Toxicon
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/13/2003
Publication Date: 6/7/2003
Citation: MEDEIROS, R.M., BARBOSA, R.C., TABOSA, I.M., RIET-CORREA, F., DE BARROS, S.S., GARDNER, D.R., MOLYNEUX, R.J. TREMORGENIC SYNDROME CAUSED BY IPOMOEA ASARIFOLIA IN NORTHEASTERN BRAZIL. TOXICON. v. 41. p. 933-935. 2003.

Interpretive Summary: A disease in goats is dissolved involving depression, tremors, extreme sensitivity to noise incoordination and falling is described. The problem is caused by the animals eating a plant belonging to the sweet potato family. Analysis for compounds, known to be present in other plants of this family, that alter the way in which sugars are utilized in the basic functioning of living cells did not show them to be present. The disease is therefore caused by a different group of compounds, or by toxins produced by infection of the plant by fungi.

Technical Abstract: Ipomoea asarifolia is a toxic plant in Northeastern Brazil, affecting goats, sheep and cattle. To determine the clinical signs and pathology of the intoxication by I. asarifolia, and to investigate the possibility that the plant induces a lysosomal storage disease, the green plant was dosed to 10 goats. Four goats ingesting 23?37 g/kg bw daily had clinical signs in 4?10 days. Four goats ingesting 10 g/kg bw daily had clinical sips in7?38 days. One goat had clinical sips after 19 days of daily ingestion of 5 g/kg. Another goat had no clinical signs after ingesting 2.5g/kg bw of plant during 125 days, but clinical signs appeared after 11 days ingesting 10g/kg bw. Clinical signs were depression, somnolence, tremors, hypersensitivity to noise or movements, head nodding, incoordinated gait, hypermetria, swaying when standing and wide based stance. When the goats were driven or startled they had severe incoordination of movements, sideway progression and falling, sometimes into unusual positions. After a period of rest they usually rose unassisted. Appetite was maintained, but most goats lost weight. Five goats recovered in 4?9 days after the withdrawal of the plant. Two goats died spontaneously and three were euthanatized for histologic and ultrastructural studies. No significant lesions were observed at necropsies or on the histologic and ultrastructural studies. Samples of the plant analyzed for enzymatic inhibitors were negative for calystegines and contained an almost undetectable amount of swainsonine (less than 0.001%). It is concluded that L asarifolia causes a tremorgenic syndrome due to unknown tremorgenic phytotoxins or mycotoxins.