Ponderosa pine needle-induced parturition in cattle: analysis for presence of mycotoxins

Abstract

Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) needles were fed to pregnant beef cows. Mean gestation lengths of 250.6 days for winter pine needles (PN) and 253.2 days for summer PN were reduced (p < 0.001) compared to controls (274.8 days). The levels of nine mycotoxins in fresh Ponderosa PN from trees, old PN from the ground, dry PN from trees, and PN collected from trees cut in the winter and summer were below detectable limits. The mycotoxins evaluated included aflatoxins BI, Bz, and GI, zearalenone, zearalenol, ochratoxin, T-2 toxin, diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS), and deoxynivalenol (DON). All of the collections of PN analyzed were either known to induce or believed to induce abortion in cattle. Inadequate cleanup prevented evaluation of zearalenone and zearalenol in winter-collected PN and dry PN from trees and T-2 toxin and DAS in winter-collected PN, fresh PN collected from trees, old PN from the ground, and dry PN collected from live trees. Pine needles collected from trees cut in the summer induced early parturition in 100% of the pregnant cows fed these PN and were successfully evaluated for all nine mycotoxins; however, levels were below detectable limits. The mycotoxins evaluated in this study do not appear to be involved in PN abortion.