Maternal Ingestion of Ipomoea carnea: Effects on Goat-Kid Bonding and Behavior

Abstract

Ipomoea carnea is a toxic plant found in Brazil and other tropical and subtropical countries and often causes poisoning of livestock. The plant contains the alkaloids swainsonine and calystegines, which inhibit key cellular enzymes and cause systematic cell death. This study evaluated the behavioral effects of prenatal ingestion of this plant on dams and their kids. Twenty-four pregnant goats were randomly allocated into four treatment groups and received the following doses (g/kg BW) of fresh I. carnea: 0 (control group), 1.0 (IC1), 3.0 (IC3), and 5.0 (IC5) from day 27 of gestation until parturition. Dam and kid bonding and behavior were evaluated by several tests, immediately after birth until six weeks of age. Dams from IC3 and IC5 groups spent less time paying attention to the newborn. There was a lack of maternal-infant bonding due to I. carnea intoxication. Kids from treated dams had difficulty in standing, suckling, and in recognizing their mother hours after birth. I. carnea can also compromise the kids' ability to learn and to retain spatial memory. We suggest that kids from pregnant goats given I. carnea during gestation have significant behavioral alterations and developmental delays that may compromise their survival.

Keywords: I. carnea; goats; morning glory; neuroteratology; reproductive toxicology; swainsonine.

Figure 1

Schematic diagram of a maze used to test kid discrimination between its mother and an alien dam. The barrier represented by the dotted line was a wire-mesh panel through which kids could contact dams. Kids were tested at 12 h after birth, except in instances where they were not mobile and then the test was conducted at 24 h after birth.

Figure 2

Schematic diagram of a maze used to test kids ability to navigate a progressively more challenging maze to reach its dam on days two, four, and six postpartum. Additional solid partitions as shown were added for the four- and six-day tests, respectively. The dam was tethered at the end of the maze.

Figure 3

Schematic diagram of Hebb-Williams mazes used to test kids’ ability to navigate a maze to reach their mothers at two, four, and six weeks of age. Blind alleys are shown in gray; kids entering these alleys were considered errors. (A) Hebb-Williams A; (B) Hebb-Willians B; (C) Hebb-Willians C; (D) Hebb-Willians D.