Swainsonine toxin

Aberrant behavior -very excitable, muscle weakness, death Locoweed -Australian and Western US plant Swainsonine toxin - liver enzyme inhibitor - well known to affect cattle... 

Abortifacients - Legumes (Astrogalus) Swainsonine toxin - stops... 

Figure 2.13 The indolizidine alkaloid toxin swainsonine (a potent inhibitor of a-mannosidase), responsible for locoweed toxicosis.

Polyhydroxyindolizidines are a class of alkaloids, occurring primarily in the family Leguminosae [86]. Within the group the most important members are swainsonine (1,7,8-trihydroxyindolizidine), the toxin of locoweeds Astragalus and Oxytropis species) of North America and the poison peas (Swainsona species) of Austraha, and castanospermine (1,6,7,8-tetrahydroxyindolizidine), the major alkaloid of the Moreton Bay chestnut or Black Bean Castanospermum australe). In contrast to the herbaceous locoweeds and poison peas, the latter is a large tree native of Northeastern Australia, which has been introduced as an ornamental in... 

Swainsonine is water soluble and is rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. It circulates through the body system, and is excreted in the urine, milk and fece after 5-6 days pratically no toxin remains in the serxun. Swainsonine is eliminated partially in milk and it can be fed to nursing calves and lambs, developing lesion, such as cats that feed milk from cows that consumed locoweed. Reversal of the effects of intoxications are slower, thus week or months may be required for recovery of cell function. Some CNS neurons are lost and cannot replaced [158]. 

Astragahis (locoweed) causes abortion in a high percentage of cattle, but in lambs, it is associated with congeni flexure of die joints and contracted tendi Swainsonine, the same toxin responsible for the neurol ic manifestations of locoweed, is suspected as the teratogen. 

Colegate, S. M., Dorling, P. R., and Huxtable, P. R. 1991. Swainsonine a Toxic Indolizidine Alkaloid from the Australian Swainsona species. In Toxicology of Plant and Fungal Compounds-Handbook of Natural Toxins, Vol.6, Keeler, R. R, and Tu, A. T, eds. New York, Marcel Dekker. pp. 159-189. 

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