Astragalus (Astragalus lentiginosus)-Poisonous plants

Astragalus (A. lentiginosus)

General poisoning notes:

Astragalus lentiginosus is a native plant found in south-central British Columbia. Ingesting the plant causes a variety of problems. Plants contain the alkaloid swainsonine, which can cause locoism. The common symptoms are impairment of the nervous system, depression, and excitement when disturbed. Teratogenic effects have also been noted in lambs and foals. At high altitudes (above 2120 m), cattle suffer from congestive heart failure (swainsonine influences the vascular system). This plant is a major poisonous range plant in the western United States. It is not abundant anywhere in Canada (Cheeke and Schull 1985, Panter et al. 1988).

Nomenclature:

Scientific Name: Astragalus lentiginosus Dougl.

Vernacular name(s): Astragalus (A. lentiginosus)

Scientific family name: Leguminosae

Vernacular family name: pea

Geographic Information

British Columbia.

Toxic parts:

Flowers, leaves , seeds , stems.

Notes on Toxic plant chemicals:

Swainsonine, the chemical involved in locoism, is found in several plants occurring in Canada, including Astragalus bisulcatus, A. lentiginosus, Oxytropis lambertii, and O. sericea. This indolizidine alkaloid causes locoism in cattle, horses, and sheep; it also causes teratogenic deformities in lambs, calves, and foals. In addition, at high altitudes (above 2120 m) it contributes to congenital heart failure in calves and cows (Cheeke and Schull 1985).

Toxic plant chemicals:

Slaframine, swainsonine

Chemical diagram(s) are courtesy of Ruth McDiarmid, Biochemistry Technician, Kamloops Range Station, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Kamploops, British Columbia, Canada.

Animals/Human Poisoning:

Note: When an animal is listed without additional information, the literature (as of 1993) contained no detailed explanation.

Cattle

General symptoms of poisoning:

abdominal edema, appetite, loss of duodenum, edema of gall bladder, enlarged jaw (lower), edema of thorax (ventral), edema throat, edema of ventrical(right), edem

Horses

Sheep

General symptoms of poisoning:

Abortion, blisters, weeping brain, vacuolation of cytoplasm vacuolation, death, depression, eyes, dull, fetus, dead gait, unsteady, heart rate, elevated, incoordination kidney, congestion of kidney, vacuolation of lethargy liver, congestion of muscle, weakness of sperm, detached tails sperm mobility, poor testicle degeneration ventrical(right),edema ventricle(right), round weaknessNotes on poisoning:

Astragalus lentiginosus caused fetal abortion in sheep and clinical signs of locoism in pregnant ewes. It also caused fluid accumulation in the placenta, altered cotyledonary development, and decreased fetal heart rates causing cardiac irregularity. At necropsy the fetuses had hypertrophy of the heart, right ventricular dilation, rounded apex of the heart, and generalized edema (Panter et al. 1987).

Swine

General symptoms of poisoning:

Brain, vacuolation of coat, rough and dry, cytoplasm vacuolation depression eyes, dull incoordination kidney, vacuolation of