Spontaneous poisoning by Solanum subinerme Jack as a cause of cerebellar cortical degeneration in cattle.

The present work reports cerebellar degeneration in cattle associated with the ingestion of Solanum subinerme in northern Brazil. The main clinical signs were periodic crises with loss of balance, falls, opisthotonus, and nystagmus. The histological lesions consisted of diffuse vacuolation of the perikaryon of the Purkinje neurons, followed by the loss of these cells and their substitution by Bergman glia. It is concluded that S. subinerme is another species of Solanum that causes cerebellar degeneration in cattle.

Composición química de los aceites esenciales de las hojas de Helicteres guazumifolia (Sterculiaceae), Piper tuberculatum (Piperaceae), Scoparia dulcis (Arecaceae) y Solanum subinerme (Solanaceae), recolectadas en Sucre, Venezuela

Chemical composition of essential oils from leaves of Helicteres guazumifolia (Sterculiaceae), Piper tuberculatum (Piperaceae), Scoparia dulcis (Arecaceae) and Solanum subinerme (Solanaceae) from Sucre, Venezuela. Essential oils, biosynthesized and accumulated in aromatic plants, have a wide range of applications in the pharmaceutical health, cosmetics, food and agricultural industry. This study aimed to analyze the secondary metabolites in some plant species in order to contribute to their chemotaxonomy. Leaves from Helicteres guazumifolia, Piper tuberculatum, Scoparia dulcis and Solanum subinerme were collected and their essential oils were obtained by means of hydro-distillation. The oil fraction was analyzed and identified by GC/MS. The extraction yields were of 0.004, 0.032, 0.016 and 0.005%, and the oil constituents of 88.00, 89.80, 87.50 and 89.47%, respectively. The principal oils found were: non-terpenoids volatile secondary metabolites (30.28%) in H. guazumifolia; sesquiterpenoids (20.82 and 26.09%) and oxigen derivated (52.19 and 25.18%) in P. tuberculatum and S. dulcis; and oxigen diterpenoids (39.67%) in S. subinerme. The diisobuthylphtalate (13.11 %) in H. guazumifolia, (-)-spathulenol (11.37%) in P. tuberculatum and trans-phytol (8.29 and 36.00%) in S. dulcis and S. subinerme, were the principal constituents in their respective essential oils. The diisooctylphtalate were the essential oil common to all species, but the volatile compounds such as trans-pinane, L-linalool, β-ionone, isophytol, neophytadiene, trans-phytol, dibutylphtalate and methyl hexadecanoate, were only detected in three of these essences. This suggests that these plants may require similar secondary metabolites for their ecological interactions, possibly due to common environmental factors. Rev. Biol. Trop. 59 (2): 585-595. Epub 2011 June 01.

Los aceites esenciales son biosintetizados por plantas aromáticas y pueden obtenerse de cualquier órgano de la misma, tienen gran aplicación en la industria farmacéutica, sanitaria, cosmética, agrícola y de alimentos. Los aceites esenciales de las hojas de las plantas Helicteres guazumifolia, Piper tuberculatum, Scoparia dulcis y Solanum subinerme fueron obtenidos mediante hidrodestilación con rendimientos de 0.004, 0.032, 0.016 y 0.005%, respectivamente. La CG/EM permitió identificar la mayoría de los constituyentes de estos aceites esenciales (88.00, 89.80, 87.50 y 89.47%, respectivamente), encontrándose en mayor proporción metabolitos no volátiles de estructura no terpenoidal en H. guazumifolia (30.28%), sesquiterpenoides oxigenados en P. tuberculatum (52.19%), sesquiterpenos en S. dulcis (26.09%) y derivados oxigenados de diterpenos en S. subinerme (39.67%). Los constituyentes mayoritarios fueron el diisobutilftalato (13.11%) en H. guazumifolia, (-)-espatulenol (11.37%) en P. tuberculatum y el trans-fitol (8.29 y 36.00%) para S. dulcis y S. subinerme, respectivamente. El diisooctilftalato fue el constituyente común en los aceites esenciales de todas las especies y los compuestos volátiles trans-pinano, L-linalool, β-ionona, isofitol, neofitadieno, trans-fitol, dibutilftalato y hexadecanoato de metilo, fueron detectados en tres de estas esencias. Esto sugiere que dichas plantas pueden requerir metabolitos secundarios similares para su interacción ecológica, posiblemente debido a factores ambientales comunes.