Cicuta Maculata Research Articles

Geographical and seasonal variation in water hemlock (Cicuta maculata) toxins

Water hemlock (Cicuta spp.) plants are typically found in wet areas and are toxic to all species of livestock. The toxic components in water hemlock are C17 polyacetylenes, with cicutoxin being the most studied. The objective of this study was to evaluate the variation in cicutoxin and total C17 polyacetylene compounds in water hemlock populations across western North America. Cicutoxin and total C17 polyacetylene concentrations varied among the six collection locations and among plant parts. Tubers contained the highest cicutoxin and total C17 polyacetylene concentrations of all plant parts. Green seeds contained the second most abundant total C17 polyacetylene concentrations. Total C17 polyacetylene and cicutoxin concentrations were also compared in different plant parts at several different phenological stages over the growing season. Cicutoxin and total C17 polyacetylene concentrations in the tubers increased until the green seed stage whereupon the concentrations decreased as the seeds matured and the plant began to senesce. Concentrations of secondary compounds in the stems were consistent with the optimal defense theory in which secondary compounds were higher in stems in earlier development stages compared to later stages and concentrations in seeds were higher than other above ground parts. The toxic compounds are found in all plant parts, with tubers posing the most significant risk of livestock poisoning. Results presented in this study suggest that the toxic risk to livestock likely does not differ between water hemlock (Cicuta maculata) populations across western North America under similar circumstances of ingestion.

Water hemlock poisoning in cattle: Ingestion of immature Cicuta maculata seed as the probable cause

It is well understood that water hemlock tubers are highly toxic to animals and to humans. However, this is the first time that immature seed from (Cicuta maculata) has been implicated in livestock poisoning. Nine mature Hereford cows from a herd of 81 died in northwestern Utah after ingesting immature seed heads of water hemlock (Cicuta maculata) in late summer. No obvious signs of poisoning were reported as all nine were found dead near the banks of the stream where water hemlock was found. Upon discovery of the dead cows, the remaining 72 cows were immediately removed from the pasture and no further losses occurred. Field necropsy of 3 of the dead cows and follow-up serology and histopathological examination of selected tissues did not identify any bacterial or viral causes. History of ingestion of large quantities of water hemlock seed, the acute nature of the deaths, chemical comparison of seed with toxic tubers and follow-up mouse bioassay testing supported the diagnosis of water hemlock poisoning. Seed heads collected from the neighboring pasture upstream and across the fence from the poisoned cattle and tubers collected from grazed plants were chemically analyzed and found to contain cicutoxin, and high levels of two cicutol-like derivatives (cicutol-#1 and #2) as well as other unidentified polyacetylene compounds. Seeds and tubers from suspected plants were semi-quantified and compared to archive samples of highly toxic tubers used in previous experiments. The immature hemlock seed contained less cicutoxin (0.01 times), but 9.5 and 22.5 times more cicutol-#1 and cicutol-#2 respectively, compared to the archive sample. Tubers from the grazed plants contained 4.6 times more cicutoxin and 9.8 and 18.8 times more cicutol-#1 and cicutol-#2 respectively, compared to the archive sample. Mouse bioassays with water extracts of immature seed and tubers from grazed plants demonstrated both were highly toxic and of greater toxicity when compared to archived sample.

Comparing weed composition in natural and planted hedgerows and in herbaceous field margins adjacent to crop fields

Hedgerows and field margins are common features of the agricultural landscape in southern Québec. In the last decade, hedgerow establishment has been encouraged primarily for the prevention of soil erosion, though many farmers view them as reservoirs of invasive weeds and pests. In this study, we compared weed assemblages of several hedgerow types and herbaceous field margins. Ranking that takes into consideration weed abundance was clearly demonstrated: planted hedgerows > herbaceous field margins > natural woody hedgerows. The latter harboured many perennial plant species of less weedy propensity than planted hedgerows, which accommodated a larger number of weedy species. In planted hedgerows close to 50% of plants were weeds, even in their central position, although planted and natural hedgerows sheltered similar weed composition in their central parts. Likewise, most species inventoried in adjacent fields were weeds. Weeds characterising the central position of hedgerows/field margins were often species of wet habitats (Lythrum salicaria L., Equisetum arvense L., Cicuta maculata L.). Management practices of hedgerows and perhaps of crop fields adjacent to hedgerows may be mostly responsible for the abundance of weeds in hedgerows and field margins. Key words: Hedgerow, field margins, weed, management practices, pesticide, fertiliser

Germination of Macrophytes from a Delaware River Tidal Freshwater Wetland

LECK, M. A. (Biology Department, Rider University, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648). Germination of macrophytes from a Delaware River tidal freshwater wetland. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 123: 48-67. 1996. The effects of burial and soil moisture (seeds were on the surface, or buried at 1 and 5 cm with drained, saturated, or flooded water levels), inundation (Petri dishes, and open and closed jars), and storage (-0 and -100% RH), as well as of light and various temperature regimes, were examined. Focus was on ten species (Amaranthus cannabinus (L.) Sauer, Ambrosia trifida L., Bidens laevis (L.) BSP, Impatiens capensis Meerb., Peltandra virginica (L.) Schott. & Endl., Phalaris arundinacea L., Pilea pumila (L.) A. Gray, Polvgonum arifblium L., Polygonum punctatum Elliott, and Sagittaria latifolia Willd.); five others were also considered to a limited extent (Alisma subcordatum Raf., Carex lurida Wahlenb., Cicuta maculata L., Cuscuta gronovii Willd., and Pontederia cordata L.). Species varied in their germination responses. Those with the same seed bank strategy (transient or persistent) had different dormancy mechanisms although seeds with persistent seed banks required temperatures >50C and germination for most was enhanced by light. Responises to burial and moisture level showed that larger seeded species were able to germinate from greater depth, but germination was greater in drained samples. There were three types of responses to inundation: (1) requirement for at least modest amounts of oxygen, (2) requirement for hypoxic conditions, and (3) those having good germination regardless of inundation regime. Seed bank losses and relatively short seed bank longevity could be accounted for by germination following afterripening, adverse effects of prolonged inundation, failed gerrnination (e.g., germination at depths that preclude the seedling from reaching the surface), and predation. Differences between the seed characteristics of species of this and those of other wetlands relate to the transient nature of the seed bank and to wetland hydrology. Variable responses to drying have implications for wetland restoration projects.

A Further Note on Iroquois Suicide

An earlier study of Iroquois suicide (Fenton I94I), which is unique in the Iroquoian literature and cited in comparative studies of the subject, lacked cases for the period (1790-1838) when Iroquois society suffered from rapid change. The present note fills this gap. It also bears on a theoretical issue of social disorganization related to deprivation and a radical change in the economy. The present cases conform to the two types of suicides discovered in the previous study. In an earlier study of Iroquois suicide (Fenton 1941), there was a gap in cases that occurred during the treaty period at the end of the eighteenth century and marking the onset of reservation life at the opening of the nineteenth century. These were times of deprivation-loss of lands, scarcity of game, a shift from hunting to plow agriculture, and changing role behavior for warriors. Just then Handsome Lake arose to preach a code of reformation, and Seneca culture adopted a new paradigm. Of theoretical interest is whether social disorganiza- tion accounts for the rise of the prophet and his code (Wallace 1970), or whether the demands of a radically new economy better explain the content of his message (Tooker 1968; Rothenberg 1974). The following cases of suicide document the shame of leaders and conflicts between traditional and Christian value systems. They conform to the two types discovered in the previous study -poisoning by ingesting Cicuta maculata L., or violent acts of hanging or stabbing.

THE BIOLOGY OF CANADIAN WEEDS.: 48. Cicuta maculata L., C. douglasii (DC.) Coult. & Rose and C. virosa L.

A summary of biological information on Cicuta maculata L., spotted water-hemlock, Cicuta douglasii (DC.) Coult. & Rose, western water-hemlock, and Cicuta virosa L., northern water-hemlock, is presented. The three perennials are native in Canada and all contain cicutoxin, a chemical very poisonous to humans and livestock.

The genus Cicuta in North America

Four species of Cicuta (family Umbelliferae) are recognized for North America: C. maculata L. (2n = 22), C. douglasii (DC.) Coult. & Rose (2n = 44), C. virosa L. (2n = 22), and C. bulbifera L. (2n = 22). Cicuta maculata has 22 large somatic chromosomes, C. virosa has 22 small somatic chromosomes, C. bulbifera has 22 medium sized chromosomes, and C. douglasii has 22 large chromosomes and 22 small chromosomes. Four varieties of C. maculata are recognized: var. maculata, var. angustifolia Hook., var. victorinii (Fernald) Boivin, and var. bolanderi (S. Wats.) G. A. Mulligan, stat. nov. Cicuta mackenzieana Raup is considered conspecific with C. virosu. The nomenclature, distribution, and relationships of the North American species are given together with an identification key to species and varieties.

Letter: Sexual aspects of medicine.

A 54-year-old man had a severe case of cicutoxin poisoning following the ingestion of water hemlock (Cicuta maculata). The administration of thiopentone sodium by continuous intravenous infusion proved the optimum method of controlling the gross and irregular body movements and of managing the metabolic acidosis and the cholinergic crisis characteristic of this type of poisoning. This report includes a detailed neurologic and biochemical assessment of the condition.

Cicutoxin poisoning (water hemlock).

A 54-year-old man had a severe case of cicutoxin poisoning following the ingestion of water hemlock (Cicuta maculate). The administration of thiopentone sodium by continuous intravenous infusion proved the optimum method of controlling the gross and irregular body movements and of managing the metabolic acidosis and the cholinergic crisis characteristic of this type of poisoning. This report includes a detailed neurologic and biochemical assessment of the condition.

Influence of Position on Structure of Inflorescences of Cicuta Maculata

Influence of Position on Structure of Inflorescences of Cicuta Maculata

Water Hemlock (Cicuta maculata L.) Poisoning in Swine

Water Hemlock (Cicuta maculata L.) Poisoning in Swine

Poison Canals of Cicuta maculata

The points illustrated in this paper were brought out during a microscopic examination of Cicuta maculata L., made with a view to the identification of fragments of the plant in cases of poisoning, and have been thought sufficiently interesting to be worthy of record. The secretary canals of the Umbelliferae, running in a longitudinal direction in all the vegetative organs, are rather easily observable structures, and their presence has been known for many years. As early as i866, MtLLER (4) described the canals in the secondary tissues of the root as schizogenous structures increasing in size with increasing age, but with little or no multiplication of the cells forming their walls. His figures are from Ferula orientalis. DEBARY (2) has described minutely their development in the primary cortex. In the present article, some details observable in the root will first be described. Fig. i is from a transverse section of one of the fleshy roots, in which a considerable amount of secondary growth has taken place. The dark line of small cells near the right is the cambium, with the secondary cortex to the left. The tissue produced by the cambium is chiefly parenchyma, and on the cortical side secretary canals are plentiful in this secondary growth. The identity of the cells that are to line the canals is plain at a very early stage, seven cells from the cambium in the youngest canal shown in the photograph. They lie in two rows adjacent to each other, and are to be distinguished by their dark contents. The development of the canal consists largely in the spreading apart of these rows of cells. One of the young canals in its earliest stage is shown at a higher magnification in fig. 5. The two rows of lining cells are very distinct, almost in contact, but with a narrow slit forming between them at one end. In size they differ considerably from the surrounding parenchyma cells, and it is clear that either the cambium cells which

A CASE OF POISONING DUE TO EATING POISON-HEMLOCK (CICUTA MACULATA)

The plant discussed in this paper, Cicuta maculata or, as it is more commonly called, water-hemlock or poison-hemlock, is a widely distributed plant in this country and has for centuries been known as a plant possessing a deadly poison. A number of cases of death have been reported by American and European physicians, but the cases undoubtedly are more numerous than those reported, as it is not always possible to ascertain the history of a case, a considerable number of the victims being children. The European form of the plant is called Cicuta virosa . It is found well distributed over the whole of Europe, but seems to vary somewhat in the activity of its poison in different localities. It was not until the year 1876 that an approximate knowledge was obtained of the active agent in this plant. Boehm 1 published the results of a careful investigation into

Another Death from Eating Cicuta maculata

Another Death from Eating Cicuta maculata

Death from Eating Cicuta maculata

Death from Eating Cicuta maculata

Account of the Effects Produced by Eating a Poisonous Plant, Called Cicuta Maculata

Account of the Effects Produced by Eating a Poisonous Plant, Called Cicuta Maculata