Grazing Mares on Pasture with Sycamore Maples: A Potential Threat to Suckling Foals and Food Safety through Milk Contamination
Benoît Renaud,
Anne-Christine François,
François Boemer,
Caroline Kruse,
David Stern,
Amandine Piot,
Thierry Petitjean,
Pascal Gustin,
Dominique-Marie Votion
Affiliations
Benoît Renaud
Department of Functional Sciences, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Anne-Christine François
Department of Functional Sciences, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium
François Boemer
Biochemical Genetics Laboratory, CHU Sart Tilman, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Caroline Kruse
Department of Functional Sciences, Physiology and Sport Medicine, Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium
David Stern
Equine Pole, Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Amandine Piot
Biochemical Genetics Laboratory, CHU Sart Tilman, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Thierry Petitjean
Association Régionale de Santé et d’Identification Animales (ARSIA—ASBL), Animal Health Department, 5590 Ciney, Belgium
Pascal Gustin
Department of Functional Sciences, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Dominique-Marie Votion
Equine Pole, Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Equine atypical myopathy (AM) is seasonal intoxication resulting from the ingestion of seeds and seedlings of the sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) that contain toxins, among them, hypoglycin A (HGA). Literature mentions several cases of AM among gravid mares and in unweaned foals. The objective of this study was to determine whether HGA and/or its metabolite are present in milk from grazing mares exposed to sycamore maple trees as confirmed by detection of HGA and its metabolite in their blood. Four mare/foal couples were included in the study. Both HGA and its metabolite were detectable in all but one of the milk samples. To our knowledge, this is the first study describing transfer of HGA to the milk. This unprecedented observation could partially explain cases of unweaned foals suffering from AM. However, a transplacental transfer of the toxin cannot be excluded for newborn foals. Besides being a source of contamination for offspring, milk contamination by toxins from fruits of trees of the Sapindaceae family might constitute a potential risk for food safety regarding other species’ raw milk or dairy products.
