Tremorgenic mycotoxicosis in cattle, caused by Claviceps paspali

N Ayala-Soldado, Lora-Benitez Aj, R Mora-Medina, Molina-Lopez Amª, Artillo-Guimera Ji and Moyano-Salvago Mªr
Additional contact information
N Ayala-Soldado: Department of Anatomy and Comparative Pathology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
Lora-Benitez Aj: Department of Anatomy and Comparative Pathology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
R Mora-Medina: Department of Anatomy and Comparative Pathology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
Molina-Lopez Amª: Department of Anatomy and Comparative Pathology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
Artillo-Guimera Ji: Department of Anatomy and Comparative Pathology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
Moyano-Salvago Mªr: Department of Anatomy and Comparative Pathology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain

Veterinární medicína, 2022, vol. 67, issue 12, 638-643

Abstract: Claviceps paspali is a fungus that mainly parasitises Paspalum dilatatum, generating a structure denominated sclerotium, in which indole-diterpenoid alkaloids are isolated. Its action mechanism is related to the inhibition of the gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor. It basically affects bovines, triggering the tremorgenic syndrome, the prevalence of this intoxication being relatively low in Europe. This work describes a clinical case on a cattle farm in Seville (southern Spain), composed of 91 bovines, 60% of which were principally affected with nervous clinical signs. The diagnosis was based on a clinical inspection of the animals, as well as of the presence of paspalum seed heads containing the sclerotia of Claviceps paspali in the plants present in the pastures. The causal agent was identified as being Claviceps paspali, which had parasitised numerous examples of Paspalum paspaloides. The indole-diterpenoid alkaloids produced by Claviceps paspali were identified using ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry and mass spectrometry. At present, no effective aetiological treatment has been described for poisoning caused by this mycotoxin, so a supportive treatment was administered, and different handling methods were applied, resulting in the complete recovery of the animals. Finally, it was concluded that unusually high humidity and temperature levels for the region triggered the development of the sclerotium generated by this fungus.

Keywords: bovine; mycotoxins; Paspalum; sclerotium; tremor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://vetmed.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/25/2022-VETMED.html (text/html)
http://vetmed.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/25/2022-VETMED.pdf (application/pdf)
free of charge

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:caa:jnlvet:v:67:y:2022:i:12:id:25-2022-vetmed

DOI: 10.17221/25/2022-VETMED

Access Statistics for this article

Veterinární medicína is currently edited by Ing. Helena Smolová Ph.D.

More articles in Veterinární medicína from Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Ivo Andrle ().