Abiotic Degradation of the Toxin Simplexin by Soil Collected from a <i>Pimelea</i>-Infested Paddock
<i>Pimelea</i> poisoning of cattle is caused by the toxin simplexin present in native <i>Pimelea</i> plant species. Surface weathering and burial of <i>Pimelea</i> plant material under soil in <i>Pimelea</i>-infested pastures previously showed simplexi...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Toxins |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/17/3/124 |
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| Summary: | <i>Pimelea</i> poisoning of cattle is caused by the toxin simplexin present in native <i>Pimelea</i> plant species. Surface weathering and burial of <i>Pimelea</i> plant material under soil in <i>Pimelea</i>-infested pastures previously showed simplexin degradation, suggesting soil microbial metabolism and/or abiotic degradation of simplexin in the field. This current study investigated whether soil from a <i>Pimelea</i>-infested paddock was capable of simplexin degradation in the laboratory. The effects of temperature on isolated simplexin levels and simplexin levels in <i>Pimelea</i> plant material treated with field-collected soil, acid-washed sand or bentonite were determined. <i>Pimelea</i> plant material incubated in field-collected soil at 22 °C for seven days did not show any simplexin degradation. Isolated simplexin preadsorbed to field-collected soil, acid-washed sand or bentonite showed simplexin decrease after one hour of incubation at 100 °C with three breakdown products identified by UPLC-MS/MS, indicating that toxin breakdown can be a heat-induced process rather than a microbial-based metabolism. Decreased simplexin levels were observed in <i>Pimelea</i> plant material mixed with acid-washed sand under similar incubation conditions. Overall, the study showed the field-collected soil did not contain soil microorganisms capable of simplexin metabolism within a short period of time. However, the co-exposure to high temperature resulted in significant abiotic simplexin breakdown, without microorganism involvement, with the product structures suggesting that the degradation was a heat promoted acid hydrolysis/elimination process. Overall, this study demonstrated that simplexin breakdown in the field could be a thermal abiotic process with no indication of microbial involvement. |
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| ISSN: | 2072-6651 |