Metabolite Profiling in the Liver, Plasma and Milk of Dairy Cows Exposed to Tansy Ragwort (Senecio jacobae) Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids

BACKGROUND

Plant-derived pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in feed cause metabolic disturbances in farm animals resulting in high economic losses worldwide. The molecular pathways affected by these PAs in cells and tissues are not yet fully understood. The objective of the study was to examine the dose-dependent effects of orally applied PAs derived from tansy ragwort in midlactation dairy cows.

METHODS

Twenty Holstein dairy cows were treated with target exposures of 0, 0.47, 0.95 and 1.91 mg of total PA/kg of body weight/d in control, PA1, PA2 and PA3, respectively, for 28 days. Liver tissue biopsy and plasma and milk samples were taken at day 28 of treatment to assess changes in metabolic pathways. A targeted metabolomics approach was performed to detect the metabolite profiles in all compartments.

RESULTS

The PA-affected metabolite profiling in liver tissue, plasma and milk revealed changes in three substrate classes: acylcarnitines (ACs), phosphatidylcholines (PCs) and sphingomyelins (SMs). In addition, in the plasma, amino acid concentrations were affected by PA exposure.

CONCLUSIONS

PA exposure disturbed liver metabolism at many sites, especially devastating pathways related to energy metabolism and to amino acid utilization, most likely based on mitochondrial oxidative stress. The effects on the milk metabolite profile may have consequences for milk quality.

Rumen Metabolism of Senecio Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids May Explain Why Cattle Tolerate Higher Doses Than Monogastric Species

Rumen metabolism of Senecio pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) and their N-oxide forms was studied by mass spectrometry in in vitro batch culture incubates and confirmed in in vivo samples. Most N-oxides were found to undergo rapid conversion to their corresponding free bases, followed by biotransformation to metabolites hydrogenated at both the necine base and the necic acid moiety. Therefore, rumen metabolism can be considered a detoxification step, as saturated necine base structures are known as the platyphylline type, which is regarded as less or nontoxic. Individual Senecio PAs, such as jacoline, are metabolized slowly during rumen fermentation. PAs that showed limited biotransformation in the rumen in this study also showed limited transformation and CYP-mediated bioactivation in the liver in other studies. This could not only explain why PAs that are comparatively metabolically stable can pass into milk but also suggest that such PAs might be considered compounds of lesser concern.

Senecio jacobaea L.)

Four undescribed pyrrolizidine alkaloids (seneciojanine A-D), two enantiomeric pairs of unusual alkaloids (millingtojanine A-B) with a unique tricyclic core, and nine known pyrrolizidine alkaloids were isolated from whole plant extracts of Jacobaea vulgaris Gaertn. The structures of the undescribed compounds were established by extensive spectroscopic and spectrometric analyses and comparison of theoretical and experimental ECD data. Several of the structures were also confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. Seneciojanine A-D possess a rare natural necine moiety with an α,β-unsaturated carbonyl group located at C-3 and a hydroxyl substituent at C-8.

Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in the Food Chain: Is Horizontal Transfer of Natural Products of Relevance?

Recent studies have raised the question whether there is a potential threat by a horizontal transfer of toxic plant constituents such as pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) between donor-PA-plants and acceptor non-PA-plants. This topic raised concerns about food and feed safety in the recent years. The purpose of the study described here was to investigate and evaluate horizontal transfer of PAs between donor and acceptor-plants by conducting a series of field trials using the PA-plant Lappula squarrosa as model and realistic agricultural conditions. Additionally, the effect of PA-plant residues recycling in the form of composts or press-cakes were investigated. The PA-transfer and the PA-content of soil, plants, and plant waste products was determined in form of a single sum parameter method using high-performance liquid chromatography mass spectroscopy (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS). PA-transfer from PA-donor to acceptor-plants was frequently observed at low rates during the vegetative growing phase especially in cases of close spatial proximity. However, at the time of harvest no PAs were detected in the relevant field products (grains). For all investigated agricultural scenarios, horizontal transfer of PAs is of no concern with regard to food or feed safety.

Biodegradation and utilization of crop residues contaminated with poisonous pyrrolizidine alkaloids

Disposal of noxious plant residues is a challenge for farmers and land management dealing with contaminated biomasses. Recent studies confirm the potential threat of transferring toxic plant constituents like pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) from plant residues to non-toxic succeeding agricultural crops via the soil. We studied the degree of biochemical degradation of PAs in the two most important processes, composting and biomethanization. We used lab composting and biogas batches to investigate the potential of PA-degradation of two common PA-containing plants, Lappula squarrosa and Senecio jacobaea. The experiments demonstrated a virtually complete loss of PAs in three months during the composting process and a rapid decomposition of PAs from 3112.6 μg/kg to less than 21.5 μg/kg in L. squarrosa and from 6350.2 μg/kg to less than 539.6 μg/kg in S. jacobaea during biomethanization. The information obtained is a first guide on how to re-utilize PA-contaminated plant matter in a circular bioeconomy.

Transfer of pyrrolizidine alkaloids between living plants: A disregarded source of contaminations

To elucidate the origin of the wide-spread contaminations of plant derived commodities with various alkaloids, we employed co-cultures of pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) containing Senecio jacobaea plants with various alkaloid free acceptor plants. Our analyses revealed that all plants grown in the vicinity of the Senecio donor plants indeed contain significant amounts of the PAs, which previously had been synthesized in the Senecio plants. These findings illustrate that typical secondary metabolites, such as pyrrolizidine alkaloids, are commonly transferred and exchanged between living plants. In contrast to the broad spectrum of alkaloids in Senecio, in the acceptor plants nearly exclusively jacobine is accumulated. This indicates that this alkaloid is exuded specifically by the Senecio roots. Although the path of alkaloid transfer from living donor plants is not yet fully elucidated, these novel insights will extend and change our understanding of plant-plant interactions and reveal a high relevance with respect to the widespread alkaloidal contaminations of plant-derived commodities. Moreover, they could be the basis for the understanding of various so far not fully understood phenomena in cultivation of various crops, e.g. the beneficial effects of crop rotations or the co-cultivation of certain vegetables.

Influence of Storage on the Stability of Toxic Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids and Their N-Oxides in Peppermint Tea, Hay, and Honey

1,2-Dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) and PA- N-oxides (PANO) are phytotoxins, which presumably occur in more than 6,000 plant species worldwide. Plants containing PA/PANO are responsible for various food and feed poisonings recorded for decades. Main reasons of exposition of consumers and livestock are contaminations of food and animal feed with parts, seeds, pollen, or nectar of PA-containing plants. Concerning stability, effects of processing on PA were mainly investigated in the past. The current study examined the behavior of PA/PANO in unprocessed matrices peppermint tea, hay, and honey during storage. Blank samples were fortified with PA/PANO or contaminated with blueweed ( Echium vulgare) and ragwort ( Senecio jacobaea) and stored for 182 d. The time-series analysis using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) confirmed that all 25 analyzed PA/PANO compounds remained stable in herbal samples. However, the results showed a very fast decrease of PANO in honey samples within hours. These results were discussed with respect to potential consequences for health risk assessment.

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Chemical Defence: Effects of Colonisation on Aboveground and Belowground Metabolomes

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) colonisation of plant roots is one of the most ancient and widespread interactions in ecology, yet the systemic consequences for plant secondary chemistry remain unclear. We performed the first metabolomic investigation into the impact of AMF colonisation by Rhizophagus irregularis on the chemical defences, spanning above- and below-ground tissues, in its host-plant ragwort (Senecio jacobaea). We used a non-targeted metabolomics approach to profile, and where possible identify, compounds induced by AMF colonisation in both roots and shoots. Metabolomics analyses revealed that 33 compounds were significantly increased in the root tissue of AMF colonised plants, including seven blumenols, plant-derived compounds known to be associated with AMF colonisation. One of these was a novel structure conjugated with a malonyl-sugar and uronic acid moiety, hitherto an unreported combination. Such structural modifications of blumenols could be significant for their previously reported functional roles associated with the establishment and maintenance of AM colonisation. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), key anti-herbivore defence compounds in ragwort, dominated the metabolomic profiles of root and shoot extracts. Analyses of the metabolomic profiles revealed an increase in four PAs in roots (but not shoots) of AMF colonised plants, with the potential to protect colonised plants from below-ground organisms.

Chemical variation in Jacobaea vulgaris is influenced by the interaction of season and vegetation successional stage

Knowledge on spatio-temporal dynamics of plant primary and secondary chemistry under natural conditions is important to assess how plant defence varies in real field conditions. Plant primary and secondary chemistry is known to vary with both season and vegetation successional stage, however, in few studies these two sources of variation have been examined in combination. Here we examine variations in primary and secondary chemistry of Jacobaea vulgaris (Asteraceae) throughout the growing season in early, mid, and late stages of secondary succession following land abandonment using a well-established chronosequence in The Netherlands. We investigated primary and secondary chemistry of both leaves and flowers, in order to determine if patterns during seasonal (phenological) development may differ among successional stages. The chemical concentration of primary and secondary chemistry compounds in J. vulgaris varied throughout the season and was affected by vegetation succession stage. Concentrations of pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) tertiary-amines were highest in flowers during early Summer and in fields that had been abandoned ten to twenty years ago. PA N-oxide concentrations of both leaves and flowers, on the other hand increased with the progression of both season and succession. In Spring and early Summer chlorophyll concentrations were highest, especially in the oldest fields of the chronosequence. During phenological development, nitrogen concentration increased in flowers and decreased in leaves revealing allocation of nutrients from vegetative to reproductive plant parts throughout the growing season. The highest concentrations of N-oxides and chlorophylls were detected in older fields. Thus, our results suggest that variations in plant patterns of nutritional and defence compounds throughout the growing season are depending on successional context.

Diversity of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in Senecio species does not affect the specialist herbivore Tyria jacobaeae

The evolution of the diversity of related secondary metabolites in plants is still poorly understood. It is often thought that the evolution of plant secondary metabolites is driven by specialist insect herbivores and under this coevolutionary model it is expected that related compounds differ in their effects on specialist herbivores. Here we focus on the diversity of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in Senecio species and their effects on Tyria jacobaeae, a specialist moth on Senecio jacobaea. As a first step to determine the effects of related PAs on T. jacobaeae, we studied larval performance on plants from 11 S. jacobaea populations and eight Senecio species with different PA compositions. Although the populations of S. jacobaea differed in their PA compositions, there was no difference in larval performance among the populations. Larval performance differed among the eight species but we could not show a correlation with PA composition. Oviposition choice experiments showed a strong correlation between oviposition preference and larval performance on the eight species but oviposition preference did not seem to be correlated with PAs. We found no indications that related PAs differ in effects on the specialist T. jacobaeae; therefore it seems unlikely that T. jacobaeae is a driving force behind the evolution of the diversity of PAs. Alternatively, we propose that the evolution of the diversity of PAs is driven by selection pressure from generalist herbivores or that the diversity of PAs may even be selectively neutral.

Differential effects of insect herbivory on arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization

A series of field and laboratory experiments were conducted to examine whether natural levels of insect herbivory affect the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) colonization of two plant species. The plant species were the highly mycorrhizal (mycotrophic) Plantago lanceolata, which suffers small amounts of insect damage continuously over a growing season and the weakly mycorrhizal (non-mycotrophic) Senecio jacobaea, which is frequently subject to rapid and total defoliation by moth larvae. Herbivory was found to reduce AM colonization in P. lanceolata, but had no effect in S. jacobaea. Similarly, AM colonization reduced the level of leaf damage in P. lanceolata, but had no such effect in S. jacobaea. AM fungi were found to increase growth of P. lanceolata, but this effect was only clearly seen when insects were absent. AM fungi reduced the growth of S. jacobaea irrespective of whether insects were present. It is concluded that the reduction of AM fungal colonization by herbivory in P. lanceolata is due to the reduced amount of photosynthate available to the symbiont. This may only become apparent at threshold levels of insect damage and, below these, increased photosynthesis elicited by the mycorrhiza is able to compensate for foliage loss to the insects. However, in S. jacobaea, the mycorrhiza appears to be an aggressive parasite and insect attack only exacerbates the reduction in biomass. In mycotrophic plants, insect herbivores may be responsible for poor functioning of the symbiosis in field conditions and there is a symmetrical interaction between insects and fungi. However, in non-mycotrophic plants, the interaction is strongly asymmetrical, being entirely in favour of the mycorrhiza.

Induced responses in three alkaloid-containing plant species

In this paper we test three plant species for the inducibility of their alkaloid production. The plants were heavily damaged by cutting off 50% of their leaf surface using a pair of scissors. The cut-off leaf tips were used as controls for possible diurnal fluctuations. After 3, 6, 12, 24 and 48 h, respectively, the leaf bases of the damaged plants were harvested and the alkaloid concentration was measured. In Senecio jacobaea the pyrrolizidine alkaloid (Pa) concentration in damaged plants decreased within 6-12 h after damage. Within 24 h after damage the Pa concentration of Cynoglossum officinale doubled compared to control values. Indole alkaloid production in Catharanthus roseus was found not to be induced in this experiment. The responses are discussed in a functional context. We hypothesize that the nature of the response is not a feature of the type of secondary metabolite, but is related to whether the plants are damaged mainly by generalist or by specialist herbivores.

lead to maintenance of genetic variation in pyrrolizidine alkaloid concentration

We hypothesize that the tritrophic interaction between ants, the aphid Aphis jacobaeae, the moth Tyria jacobaeae, and the plant Senecio jacobaea can explain the genetic variation observed in pyrrolizidine alkaloid concentration in natural populations of S. jacobaea. The ant Lasius niger effectively defends S. jacobaea plants infested with A. jacobaeae against larvae of T. jacobaeae. S. jacobaea plants with A. jacobaeae which are defended by ants escape regular defoliation by T. jacobaeae. Plants with aphids and ants have a lower pyrrolizidine alkaloid concentration than plants without aphids and ants. When these data are fitted to an existing theoretical model for temporal variation in fitness it is shown that varying herbivore pressure by T. jacobaeae in interaction with ants defending aphid-infested plants with a low pyrrolizidine alkaloid concentration can lead to a stable polymorphism in pyrrolizidine alkaloid concentration. Costs of the production and maintenance of pyrrolizidine alkaloids are not accounted for in the model.

and Cynoglossum officinale L

Herbivore effects were studied on populations of the biennial plant species Senecio jacobaea and Cynoglossum officinale. During a three year period (1985-1988) population characteristics (herbivory, number of seedlings, rosettes and flowering plants) were compared in-and outside exclosures, as well as parameters reflecting vegetation cover. In S. jacobaea, a strong negative effect of Tyria jacobaeae was found on seedling establishment, rosette growth and flowering. On the other hand, vertebrate herbivores (mainly rabbits) had an indirect positive effect by limiting the development of the surrounding vegetation (esp. grasses). The increasing vegetation cover in protected populations caused a reduction in germination, seedling- and rosette-growth. Herbivory on C. officinale was low (<10%), no direct effects of herbivores on plant populations were shown. Indirect effects of herbivory through an increasing vegetation were even more pronounced as in S. jacobaea. Therefore, although both plant species may first benefit from herbivore-exclusion, their populations are dependent on rabbits eating other plants (esp. grasses) and reducing competition.

to various degrees of defoliation

Effects of various degrees of defoliation on Cynoglossum officinale and Senecio jocobaea were studied under favourable growing conditions. Regrowth was found in both species, but did not overcompensate for defoliation. The physiological mechanisms responsible for regrowth after defoliation were found to relate either to an increase in net assimilation rate or to an increase in relative investment in aboveground parts. The morphological mechanism behind regrowth involved an increase in leaf area ratio. In almost completely defoliated plants, a combination of both mechanisms was found. The time needed to re-establish the same amount of biomass as control plants differed between the species and between levels of defoliation. These differences in recovery time after defoliation are discussed in relation to decrees of herbivory found m natural situations.

The effects of host plant defoliation and fertilizer application on larval growth and oviposition behaviour in cinnabar moth

Defoliated ragwort plants produced regrowth foliage that was higher in alkaloid, but lower in amino acid concentrations than primary foliage. Total N was not affected. 2) Plants fertilized with nitrogen (as ammonium sulphate) had lower amino acid concentrations than unfertilized control plants, slightly increased alkaloid levels but similar total N concentrations. 3) Ovipositing females laid eggs upon plants with equal probability for controls, regrowth and fertilized foliage (one rosette in 5 received an egg batch). However, the probability of receiving eggs was significantly lower on the primary leaves of 'cut-back' plants that had had their lower leaves removed a few days before egg laying (only one rosette in 13 was selected). 4) Egg batch size was higher on fertilized control foliage than on other treatments. 5) Larvae attained greater final weights when fed a diet of regrowth foliage, despite the higher levels of alkaloid they contained. Larval development rate was not affected by experimental treatment of the foliage. 6) Larval growth was lowest on the leaves of fertilized plants. This was associated with significant reductions in the concentrations of three amino acids (methionine down 29%, tyrosine 33% and lysine 25%).