Properties of herbage in relation to equine dysautonomia: biochemical composition and antioxidant and prooxidant actions.
Abstract: To investigate the etiology of equine dysautonomia (ED), a degenerative polyneuropathy affecting grazing horses, the biochemical composition and antioxidant/prooxidant activities of aqueous extracts of plants collected from ED pastures were determined. Plants collected immediately after an outbreak of ED had reduced antioxidant and weak prooxidant activities when compared with control plants (plants collected from ED pastures out of ED season and control plants from ED pastures that were grown under favorable conditions). ED plants also had significantly increased concentrations of fructose and low molecular weight phenolic compounds, significantly more of one amino acid zone (probably valine), significantly less tartaric acid, and a nonsignificant decrease in ascorbic acid content when compared with control plants from ED pastures that were grown under favorable conditions. These findings suggest that ED plants may be under oxidative stress, possibly due to chilling, drought, or fungal colonization. However, experimental drought and chilling of plants did not reproduce the biochemical alterations identified in ED plants. It is possible that the altered biochemical content of ingested plants may contribute, directly or indirectly, to the development of ED in grazing horses.
Publication Date: 2000-07-11 PubMed ID: 10888548DOI: 10.1021/jf991101nGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research article explores the potential causes of equine dysautonomia (ED) – a nerve disease in horses. The researchers investigated the biochemical makeup and antioxidant/prooxidant activities of plants from pastures where ED occurs. The findings suggest that the altered biochemical content of these plants could play a role in the development of ED in grazing horses.
Objective of Study
- The study aims to identify the causes of equine dysautonomia (ED), a nerve disease that impacts grazing horses. The researchers analyzed the biochemical composition and antioxidant/prooxidant properties of plant extracts from pastures associated with ED.
Research Process and Findings
- The researchers collected plants from pastures immediately after an ED outbreak and compared these to control plants (collected out of ED season or grown under favorable conditions).
- The plants from ED pastures demonstrated reduced antioxidant and weak prooxidant activities compared to the control plants.
- Further analysis revealed that ED plants had higher concentrations of fructose and low molecular weight phenolic compounds, more of one type of amino acid (probably valine), less tartaric acid, and a non-significant decrease in ascorbic acid content.
Suggested Causes
- These findings could indicate that plants from ED pastures are under oxidative stress, potentially due to chilling, drought, or fungal colonization.
- However, artificially inducing drought and chilling of plants did not replicate the biochemical alterations found in ED plants, suggesting that other factors could be at play.
Implications of the Research
- The research suggests that the altered biochemical content of plants in ED pastures could contribute to the development of ED in grazing horses.
- The exact mechanism of this potential connection remains unclear. More research is needed to definitively link the biochemical makeup of these plants to the incidence of ED.
Cite This Article
APA
McGorum BC, Fry SC, Wallace G, Coenen K, Robb J, Williamson G, Aruoma OI.
(2000).
Properties of herbage in relation to equine dysautonomia: biochemical composition and antioxidant and prooxidant actions.
J Agric Food Chem, 48(6), 2346-2352.
https://doi.org/10.1021/jf991101n Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Easter Bush Veterinary Centre, University of Edinburgh, Roslin, Midlothian, Scotland, UK.
MeSH Terms
- Animal Feed
- Animals
- Antioxidants / analysis
- Autonomic Nervous System Diseases / etiology
- Autonomic Nervous System Diseases / veterinary
- Horse Diseases / etiology
- Horses
- Oxidants / analysis
- Phenols / analysis
- Plants / chemistry
- Scotland
Citations
This article has been cited 4 times.- Culhuac EB, Elghandour MMMY, Adegbeye MJ, Barbabosa-Pliego A, Salem AZM. Influence of Dietary Selenium on the Oxidative Stress in Horses. Biol Trace Elem Res 2023 Apr;201(4):1695-1703.
- Żak A, Siwińska N, Chełmecka E, Bażanów B, Romuk E, Adams A, Niedźwiedź A, Stygar D. Effects of Advanced Age, Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction and Insulin Dysregulation on Serum Antioxidant Markers in Horses. Antioxidants (Basel) 2020 May 21;9(5).
- Edwards SE, Martz KE, Rogge A, Heinrich M. Edaphic and Phytochemical Factors as Predictors of Equine Grass Sickness Cases in the UK. Front Pharmacol 2010;1:122.
- Grube M, Muter O, Strikauska S, Gavare M, Limane B. Application of FT-IR spectroscopy for control of the medium composition during the biodegradation of nitro aromatic compounds. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 2008 Nov;35(11):1545-9.
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