The Toxicity of Cyclopiazonic Acid in Weaned Pigs

Abstract

Five- to six-week-old crossbred pigs weighing 5 to 14 kg were given purified cyclopiazonic acid at dosages of 10, 1.0, 0.1, and 0.01 mg/kg body weight orally for 14 days. Clinical signs observed by day 7 in pigs given 10 mg/kg body weight were weakness, inactivity, anorexia, rough hair coats, and reduced body weights. These pigs also developed diarrhea during week 2 of the experiment. The pigs given 1.0 mg/kg body weight had rough hair coats and were moderately inactive during the second week of the experiment. At necropsy, lesions were observed only in pigs given 10 and 1.0 mg/kg body weight of cyclopiazonic acid. Lesions were gastric ulcers, mucosal hyperemia, and hemorrhage throughout the small and large intestine in pigs given 10 mg/kg body weight of cyclopiazonic acid. The pigs also had yellow, fibrinonecrotic material in the lumen of the small intestine and pale livers. One pig given 1.0 mg/kg body weight had gastric ulceration. Microscopic lesions in pigs given 10 mg/kg body weight were necrotizing gastroenteritis, focal hepatocellular necrosis, hepatic peripheral lobular fatty change, and focal renal tubular nephrosis with focal suppurative tubulointerstitial nephritis. Pigs given 1.0 mg/kg body weight of cyclopiazonic acid had necrotizing gastritis and villous blunting in the jejunum and ileum.