Recent investigations of ergot alkaloids incorporated into plant and/or animal systems

摘要

Ergotalkaloidshavebeenassociatedwithendophyte-infectedgrasses(e.g.,theEpichlo?,Baconetal., 1977 and Balansia, Porter et al., 1979 spp.) with examples including tall fescue and fescue toxicosis in the United States (Yates et al., 1985) as well as perennial ryegrass in New Zealand (Rowan and Shaw, 1987) and Ireland (Canty et al., 2014).In addition to animals grazing these grasses being a?ected by alkaloid toxicities, these regions also provide hay for parts of the world where su?cient feedstu? cannot be grown to support existing livestock.The result has been increased occurrencesofergotalkaloidissuesarisinginareasnottypicallyassociatedwithpasture-basedagriculture.To illustrate, weight loss in camels in the United Arab Emirates consuming an imported ergovaline-containing endophyte-infected perennial ryegrass straw (Alabdouli et al., 2014) along with issues associated with import and feeding of perennial ryegrass straw to Japanese black cattle (Miyazaki et al., 2001) have been documented.In addition to these incidents, grasses can also becomeinfestedwithClavicepspurpureawherethealkaloids,typicallyergotamineandergocristine, are responsible for the resultant ergotism associated with C.purpurea.The presence of these toxins can compound livestock issues with the concomitant consumption of ergovaline produced by the endophyte.In terms of livestock production systems, associated ergot alkaloid toxicities are not limited to pasture or feeding pasture products.While Claviceps Africana is widespread throughout Africa and Asia, the ?rst reported case of toxicity was in Australian sorghum in 1996 (Ryley et al., 1996).The C.Africana-infested sorghum has been demonstrated to be detrimental to steer performance in Australian feedlots that utilize this feedstu? (Blaney et al., 2011) and is an example of how ergot-contaminated feed can distress intensive livestock production.