Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Toxic asperphenamate found in hay linked to cattle constipation
By Pozzato, Nicola et al.·Published in Toxicon : official journal of the International Society on Toxinology·2020·Laboratorio di Diagnostica Clinica e Sierologia di Piano, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Rapid detection of asperphenamate in a hay batch associated with constipation and deaths in dairy cattle. The application of DART-HRMS to veterinary forensic toxicology.
- Species:
- cattle
Plain-English summary
A group of dairy cattle experienced severe constipation and some died after eating a batch of hay contaminated with a toxin called asperphenamate, produced by certain molds. Investigations included necropsies and various tests, which ultimately identified the toxin using advanced mass spectrometry techniques. This finding highlights the importance of checking feed for harmful substances, especially when animals show signs of distress. Unfortunately, the outcome for the affected cattle was tragic, with some not surviving the poisoning.
People also search for: dairy cattle constipation causes · toxic hay for cows · asperphenamate in livestock feed
Abstract
Direct analysis in real time (DART) coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) was applied for the first time to veterinary forensic toxicology to investigate the presence of toxic compounds in hay after an episode of acute intoxication in a dairy cattle farm. In addition to gross field necropsy and histological examination, microbial cultures, and heavy metals analysis, the molecular fingerprinting of the suspected hay batch was investigated by DART-HRMS. DART-HRMS revealed a distinct signal of m/z 507.2289 in the hay batch thought to be associated with the digestive complications. A search on chemical structure databases matched the ion with asperphenamate, a toxin produced by Penicillium spp. and Aspergillus spp. Liquid Chromatography-HMRS analysis and electrospray-HRMS-MS/MS of the hay extracts further characterized the structure and confirmed the identification of the compound as asperphenamate. Asperphenamate is fungal metabolite which can have cytotoxic and antitumor activity in humans, and it is classified as acute toxicant and harmful if swallowed.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32891666/