Premium
Pyrrolizidine alkaloid production of Jacobaea aquatica and contamination of forage in meadows of Northern Austria
Author(s) -
Chizzola Remigius,
BasslerBinder Gabriele,
Karrer Gerhard,
Kriechbaum Monika
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
grass and forage science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1365-2494
pISSN - 0142-5242
DOI - 10.1111/gfs.12391
Subject(s) - senecio , noxious weed , dry matter , biology , forage , pyrrolizidine , agronomy , pyrrolizidine alkaloid , biomass (ecology) , fodder , weed , botany
Jacobaea aquatica (= Senecio aquaticus , Asteraceae), marsh ragwort, grows regionally in low management intensity wet grasslands in various European countries. The plant can be regarded as a noxious weed as it contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids ( PA s), which cause health problems in livestock. In the Waldviertel region of Northern Austria, marsh ragwort has established dense populations as the fertilizing and production intensity of the meadows changed during the last decades. Ragwort biomass production and alkaloid concentration in J. aquatica were recorded during three consecutive years at three sites to study the effects of two treatments: cutting twice a year either early in June plus September, or in July plus August, respectively. Six PA s (Z‐erucifoline > senecionine > integerrimine > seneciphylline > acetyl‐erucifoline and acetyl‐seneciphylline) were evaluated. The alkaloid contents were highest in July and August when 600–1,400 mg/kg dry matter ( DM ) total PA s occurred in most ragwort samples. Consequently, the forage can easily be contaminated with 40–80 mg/kg DM of PA s and may present a health risk for domestic animals and also affect human health as these alkaloids are transferred into milk.