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Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2021; 11(1); doi: 10.3390/ani11010087

Grazing Mares on Pasture with Sycamore Maples: A Potential Threat to Suckling Foals and Food Safety through Milk Contamination.

Abstract: Equine atypical myopathy (AM) is seasonal intoxication resulting from the ingestion of seeds and seedlings of the sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) that contain toxins, among them, hypoglycin A (HGA). Literature mentions several cases of AM among gravid mares and in unweaned foals. The objective of this study was to determine whether HGA and/or its metabolite are present in milk from grazing mares exposed to sycamore maple trees as confirmed by detection of HGA and its metabolite in their blood. Four mare/foal couples were included in the study. Both HGA and its metabolite were detectable in all but one of the milk samples. To our knowledge, this is the first study describing transfer of HGA to the milk. This unprecedented observation could partially explain cases of unweaned foals suffering from AM. However, a transplacental transfer of the toxin cannot be excluded for newborn foals. Besides being a source of contamination for offspring, milk contamination by toxins from fruits of trees of the Sapindaceae family might constitute a potential risk for food safety regarding other species' raw milk or dairy products.
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Publication Date: 2021-01-05 PubMed ID: 33466424PubMed Central: PMC7824825DOI: 10.3390/ani11010087Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research article investigates the potential risks posed by grazing mares on pasture with sycamore maples, especially the threat to suckling foals and food safety through milk contamination from the toxins in these trees, such as hypoglycin A (HGA).

Study Objective and Methodology

  • The main objective of this research was to observe if Hypoglycin A (HGA) and/or its metabolite, toxins found in the seeds and seedlings of sycamore maple trees, are present in the milk of mares grazing near these trees.
  • The researchers wanted to understand if the ingestion of these toxins can lead to Equine atypical myopathy (AM), a seasonal intoxication, in the mares’ foals through contaminated milk.
  • The research was conducted with a sample of four mare/foal pairs, all of which had access to pastures with sycamore maples and whose blood tests had confirmed the presence of HGA and its metabolite.

Research Findings

  • The findings of the study confirmed that both HGA and its metabolite were detectable in all but one of the milk samples taken from the mares.
  • This indicates that the toxins from the sycamore maple trees were being transferred to the mares’ milk.
  • This is the first study of its kind to report this type of transfer, and the results could potentially explain a number of cases where unweaned foals were suffering from AM, possibly through ingesting their mother’s contaminated milk.

Implications and Possible Risks

  • While the study provides significant insights into the risk of foals suffering from AM due to milk contamination, the researchers also indicated that a transplacental transfer of the toxin to newborn foals could not be ruled out.
  • The study also drew attention to the potential risk to food safety in terms of milk contamination by toxins from fruits of trees belonging to the Acer family.
  • This implies that such toxins could pose a threat not only to equine species, but also to other animals whose raw milk or dairy products are consumed by humans.

Conclusion

  • While the study presents groundbreaking findings on the potential risks posed by grazing mares in pastures with sycamore maples, future research is needed to further explore these risks, including more extensive sampling and longer-term studies following the health outcomes of foals exposed to toxin-contaminated milk.

Cite This Article

APA
Renaud B, François AC, Boemer F, Kruse C, Stern D, Piot A, Petitjean T, Gustin P, Votion DM. (2021). Grazing Mares on Pasture with Sycamore Maples: A Potential Threat to Suckling Foals and Food Safety through Milk Contamination. Animals (Basel), 11(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11010087

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 11
Issue: 1

Researcher Affiliations

Renaud, Benoît
  • Department of Functional Sciences, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
François, Anne-Christine
  • Department of Functional Sciences, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
Boemer, François
  • Biochemical Genetics Laboratory, CHU Sart Tilman, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
Kruse, Caroline
  • Department of Functional Sciences, Physiology and Sport Medicine, Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
Stern, David
  • Equine Pole, Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
Piot, Amandine
  • Biochemical Genetics Laboratory, CHU Sart Tilman, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
Petitjean, Thierry
  • Association Régionale de Santé et d'Identification Animales (ARSIA-ASBL), Animal Health Department, 5590 Ciney, Belgium.
Gustin, Pascal
  • Department of Functional Sciences, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
Votion, Dominique-Marie
  • Equine Pole, Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium.

Grant Funding

  • D31-1381/S1-SAMA / Wallonie

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Citations

This article has been cited 5 times.
  1. Kruse CJ, Dieu M, Renaud B, François AC, Stern D, Demazy C, Burteau S, Boemer F, Art T, Renard P, Votion DM. New Pathophysiological Insights from Serum Proteome Profiling in Equine Atypical Myopathy. ACS Omega 2024 Feb 13;9(6):6505-6526.
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  2. El-Khatib AH, Lamp J, Weigel S. A sensitive LC-MS/MS method for the quantification of the plant toxins hypoglycin A and methylenecyclopropylglycine and their metabolites in cow's milk and urine and application to farm milk samples from Germany. Anal Bioanal Chem 2023 Apr;415(10):1933-1942.
    doi: 10.1007/s00216-023-04607-9pubmed: 36877265google scholar: lookup
  3. El-Khatib AH, Engel AM, Weigel S. Co-Occurrence of Hypoglycin A and Hypoglycin B in Sycamore and Box Elder Maple Proved by LC-MS/MS and LC-HR-MS. Toxins (Basel) 2022 Sep 1;14(9).
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  4. Sander J, Terhardt M, Janzen N. Severe Inhibition of Long-Chain Acyl-CoA Enoylhydratase (EC 4.2.1.74) in a Newborn Foal Suffering From Atypical Myopathy. Front Vet Sci 2021;8:765623.
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  5. Bochnia M, Ziegler J, Glatter M, Zeyner A. Hypoglycin A in Cow's Milk-A Pilot Study. Toxins (Basel) 2021 May 26;13(6).
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