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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2011, Vol. 20 ›› Issue (3): 279-286.

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Locoweed and advances in research on toxic components

GAO Xin-lei1, HAN Bing1, ZHAO Meng-li2, HE Jiang-feng2, YU Ting1   

  1. 1. College of Life Science, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China;
    2. College of Ecology and Environmental Science, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China
  • Received:2010-04-21 Online:2011-03-25 Published:2011-06-20

Abstract: Locoweeds are poisonous plants of Astragalus spp. and Oxytropis spp. in the family Leguminosae. They contain the toxic indolizidine alkaloid swainsonine, which causes livestock poisoning known as ‘locoism’. Locoweeds are widely distributed in the world and cause a retrogressive succession, grazer poisoning, and death in the rangelands of some areas, thus seriously threatening grassland agriculture. The toxicity of locoweed was attributed to swainsonine a metabolite of fungal endophytes in locoweed, and in medicine as antineoplastic agents. The distribution, harmfulness, prevention, toxic components and advances in research on locoweeds are reviewed, and studies on taxonomy and the prospect of using locoweeds are discussed.

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