Pharmacology, Toxicology and Environmental Health Commons^™

Toxicological And Biochemical Investigations Of Alpha-Chaconine In Potato (Solanum Tuberosum L. ) Tubers: Physiologic Disposition And Tissue Binding, And Inhibition Of Tissue Cholinesterases And Isoenzymes, Sydney Obodoechina Alozie

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The distribution, absorption, metabolism and tissue binding of radioactivity were studied in hamsters after oral and intraperitoneal administration of alpha-chaconine- (³H). The material was well absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and nearly 22 percent of the label was excreted via urine and feces in 7 days. The excretion was higher in urine (21 percent) than in feces ( < 1 percent). Tissue concentrations of radioactivity peaked at 12 hours following oral administration, with the highest concentrations found in lungs, liver, spleen, skeletal muscle, kidney and pancreas, with heart and brain containing moderate amounts. Concentrations of radioactivity in tissues following intraperitoneal administration were significantly higher than those observed after oral treatment. Excretion of chloroform-soluble products in the feces was 10 times higher than that of the chloroform-insoluble metabolites after both oral and intraperitoneal administration. In the urine, the activity was predominantly in the chloroform-insoluble form and the chloroform-soluble metabolites were relatively minor in amounts (0.27, 0.85, and 2.45 percent versus 0.005, 0.14 and 0.19 percent of dose for 12, 24 and 72 hours, respectively). After 7 days, the chloroform-soluble metabolites in urine increased to 20 percent of the excreted radioactivity, while the amount of chloroform-insoluble metabolites was less than 1 percent. Subcellular distribution of the labeled compound indicated the highest concentration of radioactivity in the nuclear and microsomal fractions of brain, liver and heart tissues. A small amount of radioactivity, shown by a minor peak, was also observed in the fractions between the mitochondrial and microsomal fractions on a sucrose gradient. Binding of radioactivity was observed in brain, testes, kidney, lung, liver and heart. All of the label in the brain appeared to be in the bound form. The results indicated that alpha-chaconine is slowly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract after oral administration, and persists in various tissues, much of it in bound (non-extractable) form (in nuclear and microsomal fractions).

Excretion of alpha-chaconine- (3H) and its metabolites was investigated after oral and intraperitoneal administration in hamsters. The separation of the glycoalkaloid and its metabolites in feces and urine was accomplished by thin-layer chromatography. An increase in the concentration of excreted …

Subtle Teratogenic Effects Of Locoweed In Rats, Benjamin K. Nelson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Locoweed, a well-known teratogenic plant affecting livestock, is prevalent in mountain regions of the Western United States. Two common species (Astragalus lentiginosus and A. wootoni), administered to pregnant rats, induced behavioral deviations in their offspring. Treated mothers consumed less feed and gained less wieght during gestation than controls when gavaged locoweed at the rate of 1 gram whole plant per day on days 7 through 17 of gestation. A. lentiginosus reduced pup weight at birth (13% less than controls) and this weight reduction (as much as 29% less than controls) continued at least four weeks. A. lentiginosus also …