Abstract
There are numerous species of larkspur (Delphinium spp.) in North America. Larkspurs are a major cause of cattle losses on western ranges in the USA, especially on foothill and mountain rangelands. The toxicity of larkspur species is due to various norditerpenoid alkaloids. In this article, we review the current knowledge regarding larkspur ecology and distribution, analytical technologies to study and quantify the toxins in larkspur, the toxicology of the larkspur plants and their individual toxins, known genetic variations in larkspur susceptibility, and current management recommendations to mitigate losses from larkspur poisoning.
Highlights
There are over 60 wild species of larkspurs (Delphinium spp.) in North America [1] and a number of domestic horticultural varieties
There have been a number of chemical methods used for the analysis of the toxic norditerpenoid alkaloids found in larkspurs
In order to partially address the need to selectively analyze for the MSAL-type alkaloids, a Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy method was developed to measure the concentration of all MSAL-type alkaloids as well as the Total Alkaloid Concentration (TAC) in larkspurs [36]
Summary
There are over 60 wild species of larkspurs (Delphinium spp.) in North America [1] and a number of domestic horticultural varieties. Larkspurs have been shown to be toxic to horses, horses will not voluntarily consume sufficient quantities of larkspurs to become poisoned [6,7]. Cattle are the primary livestock species associated with larkspur toxicosis and the effect of larkspurs on cattle is the focus of this review. The toxicity of larkspurs is due to norditerpenoid alkaloids including two predominant types, the. N-(methylsuccinimido) anthranoyllycoctonine (MSAL)-type and the non MSAL-type including the. We review the current knowledge regarding larkspurs, their toxicity, and current management strategies to minimize losses from livestock poisoning. Structure of a MSAL-type alkaloid methyllycaconitine (MLA) and a non MSAL-type alkaloid deltaline
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