Abstract
Twenty-six range cattle died in September and October 1975 because of acute nephrosis accompanied by aplastic anemia. Experimental feeding of Narthecium asiaticum, which had been grazed abundantly in wet moorland, caused the same disease in cattle, and the diagnosis of N. asiaticum poisoning was established. Methanolic extract showed lethal toxicity on guinea pigs by oral administration, cytopathogenic effects on cultured cells, and hemolytic activity. Two non-hemolytic steroidal saponins were determined in a toxic fraction by thin layer chromatography, and isolated by silica gel column chromatography. Aglucon of a major saponin was a mixture of smilagenin and sarsasapogenin, and the saponin were certified as furostanol form, combining glucose at C-26 and a branched trisaccharide at 3β carbon. Furostanol saponin showed lethal toxicity on guinea pigs, but did not show any activity in vitro. Spirostanol saponin was produced by hydrolysis with acid and enzymatic digestion of furostanol saponin, and showed activities in vitro.
