The effect of body condition on disposition of alkaloids from silvery lupine (Lupinus argenteus Pursh) in sheep1

Abstract

Several species of lupine (Lupinus spp.) are poisonous to livestock, producing death in sheep and "crooked calf disease" in cattle. Range livestock cope with poisonous plants through learned foraging strategies or mechanisms affecting toxicant disposition. When a toxic plant is eaten, toxicant clearance may be influenced by the animal's nutritional and/or physiological status. This research was conducted to determine whether differences in body condition or short-term nutritional supplementation of sheep altered the disposition of lupine alkaloids given as a single oral dose of ground silvery lupine (Lupinus argenteus) seed. Ewes in average body condition (ABC, n = 9) and low body condition (LBC, n = 10) received a single dose of ground lupine seeds including pods (8.5 g/kg BW) via gavage on the first day of the experiment, and were then randomly assigned to one of two nutritional supplement treatments. Blood samples were taken 0 to 60 h after dosing to compare blood alkaloid concentration and to evaluate alkaloid absorption and elimination profiles. Concentrations of total alkaloid and anagyrine, 5,6 dehydrolupanine, lupanine, and alkaloid E were measured in serum. These four alkaloids constituted 78 and 75% of the total alkaloid concentration in serum for LBC vs. ABC groups, respectively. Initial analysis indicated that short-term supplementation had no effect on alkaloid disposition, and supplementation was removed from the statistical model. The highest concentration of total alkaloids was observed 2 h after dosing. Overall, serum total alkaloid and anagyrine levels (area under the curve) were higher (P < 0.01) for sheep in the LBC group. Serum peak concentrations of total alkaloid and anagyrine were higher in LBC vs. ABC groups (P < 0.05). Serum elimination of anagyrine, unknown alkaloid E, and lupanine was decreased in LBC vs. ABC treatments (P < 0.05). These results demonstrate that body condition is important in the disposition of lupine alkaloids; however, further research is needed to determine the potential benefit, if any, that short-term nutritional supplementation might have on alkaloid disposition.

Scientific opinion on the risks for animal and human health related to the presence of quinolizidine alkaloids in feed and food, in particular in lupins and lupin‐derived products

“…In a further study (Lopez‐Ortiz et al., ), ground silvery lupin ( L. argenteus ) (aerial plant parts) was analysed for its alkaloid concentration by GC‐FID. It contained a total alkaloid content of 16,400 mg/kg.…”

“…Lopez‐Ortiz et al. () investigated the effects of body conditions on the disposition of L. argenteus alkaloids (see Section 3.1.1). Ten Columbia ewes (age not mentioned) were administered with a single oral dose of dried seedpods (8.5 g/kg bw) containing 16,400 mg/kg total alkaloids (DM basis), which corresponded to 139 mg total alkaloids/kg bw.…”

The effect of body condition on serum concentrations of two teratogenic alkaloids (anagyrine and ammodendrine) from lupines (Lupinus species) that cause crooked calf disease1

“…Ingestion of toxic plants may alter diet selectivity and forage intake of herbivores (Provenza et al, 1992;Forbes and Kyriazakis, 1995), and in turn, the ability of herbivores to detoxify poisonous plants may be influenced by their nutritional or physiological status (Boyd and Campbell, 1983;Foley et al, 1995). Wellnourished animals may effectively process toxins from plants, whereas nutrient-deprived animals may be more likely to eat poisonous plants (Lopez-Ortiz et al, 2007) or they may be metabolically compromised in their ability to detoxify or excrete the toxins (Foley et al, 1995;Lopez-Ortiz et al, 2004).…”

Pharmacokinetic differences in exposure to camphor after intraruminal dosing in selectively bred lines of goats1

“…Macronutrient intake and body condition can affect disposition of phytotoxins in livestock such as alkaloids from lupine (Lupinus spp. ; Lopez-Ortiz et al, 2004;Lee et al, 2008) and monoterpenes in goats (Campbell et al, 2007b;Frost, 2005). In this study, however, body condition and diet nutritive quality were controlled by experimental design, selecting study animals that grazed the same pastures, ate the same basal feed on an individual-animal basis during the preconditioning period, and were in the same nongestational reproductive status.…”