An evaluation of hair, oral fluid, earwax, and nasal mucus as noninvasive specimens to determine livestock exposure to teratogenic lupine species

Authors: Lee, Stephen; Stonecipher, Clinton - Clint; CARRIAO DOS SANTOS, FABRICIO - Instituto Federal Goiano; Pfister, James; Welch, Kevin; Cook, Daniel; Green, Benedict - Ben; Gardner, Dale; PANTER, KIP - Retired ARS Employee

Submitted to: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/7/2018
Publication Date: 1/9/2019
Citation: Lee, S.T., Stonecipher, C.A., Carriao Dos Santos, F., Pfister, J.A., Welch, K.D., Cook, D., Green, B.T., Gardner, D.R., Panter, K.E. 2019. An evaluation of hair, oral fluid, earwax, and nasal mucus as noninvasive specimens to determine livestock exposure to teratogenic lupine species. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 67(1):43–49. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.8b05673.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.8b05673

Interpretive Summary: The livestock industry in the western United States loses an estimated $500 million annually from livestock production losses due to poisonous plants. Poisoning of livestock by plants often goes undiagnosed because there is a lack of appropriate or available specimens for analysis. Lupines are important toxic plants in western North America that can be poisonous and/or cause birth defects in livestock species due to specific lupine alkaloids. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of using earwax, hair, saliva, and nasal mucus as noninvasive specimens to determine livestock exposure to poisonous lupine plants. Lupine alkaloids were detected in these four matrices in cattle that were administered a single dose of lupine plant material. In addition, alkaloids from lupines were detected in the earwax of cattle that grazed lupine-infested rangelands. This study demonstrates the potential of earwax, hair, saliva, and nasal mucus as noninvasive specimens for chemical analyses to aid in the diagnosis of livestock that may have been exposed to and poisoned by plants.

Technical Abstract: The livestock industry in the western United States loses an estimated $500 million annually from livestock production losses due to poisonous plants. Poisoning of livestock by plants often goes undiagnosed because there is a lack of appropriate or available specimens for analysis. The Lupinus species represent an important toxic plant in western North America that can be toxic and/or teratogenic to livestock species due to the quinolizidine alkaloids. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of using earwax, hair, oral fluid, and nasal mucus as noninvasive specimens to determine livestock exposure to the teratogenic Lupinus species. Quinolizidine alkaloids were detected in these four matrices in cattle that were administered a single dose of Lupinus leucophyllus. In addition, quinolizidine alkaloids from lupine were detected in the earwax of cattle that grazed on lupine-infested rangelands. This study demonstrates the potential of earwax, hair, oral fluid, and nasal mucus as noninvasive specimens for chemical analyses to aid in the diagnosis of livestock that may have been exposed to and poisoned by plants.