Ergot alkaloid mycotoxins: physiological effects, metabolism and distribution of the residual toxin in mice.

ABSTRACT: The complex ergot alkaloids, ergovaline and ergotamine, cause dysregulation of physiological functions, characterised by vasoconstriction as well as thermoregulatory and cardiovascular effects in grazing livestock. To assess the effect of the mycotoxins, blood pressure and heart rate of male mice were measured, and metabolite profiling undertaken to determine relative abundances of both ergotamine and its metabolic products in body and brain tissue. Ergotamine showed similar cardiovascular effects to ergovaline, causing elevations in blood pressure and reduced heart rate. Bradycardia was preserved at low-levels of ergovaline despite no changes in blood pressure. Ergotamine was identified in kidney, liver and brainstem but not in other regions of the brain, which indicates region-specific e

SUBMITTER: Reddy P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7298049 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature