TITLE:
Liver cytochrome P450 system as affected by endophyte-infected tall fescue seed extracts and ergot alkaloids
AUTHORS:
Ali S. Moubarak, Zelpha B. Johnson, Charles F. Rosenkrans Jr.
KEYWORDS:
Seed Extract; Tall Fescue; CYP3A4; Ergot Alkaloid
JOURNAL NAME:
Agricultural Sciences,
Vol.3 No.1,
January
5,
2012
ABSTRACT: Endophyte infected tall fescue (E+) is the base diet for nearly all beef cattle in the southern USA. It has been linked to a variety of toxicological conditions due to the presence of large numbers of ergot alkaloids. This study was designed to investigate the effects of E+ seed extract and selected ergot alkaloids on the detoxification pathway by cytochrome P450 (CYP3A4) enzyme system. Tests were performed using the P450- Glo CYP3A4 enzyme activity kit (Promega, WI), according to the manufacturer’s manual. Luminescence was measured using a single tube TD20/20 luminometer. Endophyte infected tall fescue seed was extracted with 50/50 methanol/25 mM ammonium carbonate, cleaned and concentrated on Strata-X reversed phase column (Phenomenex). The extracts were evaluated on an HPLC, and then tested using a serial dilution method. Commercially available ergonovine (EN), ergocorine (ER), bromocryptine (BC) and ergocryptine (EC) were tested individually using 0 to 44 nM concentrations. Seed extract of E+ produced a significant (P P