Evaluation of Selected Clones of Phalaris arundinacea II. Indole Alkaloid Derivatives1
Robert F. Barnes, A. B. Simons, Gordon C. Marten
Agronomy Journal May 1, 1971 DOI: 10.2134/agronj1971.00021962006300030048x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Four clones of reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L.), two palatable and two unpalatable, from forage harvests in 1962 and 1963 |
| Citations | 8 |
| Key findings | Palatable clones contained up to 0.1% gramine but no DMT, whereas unpalatable clones contained up to 0.02% DMT but no gramine. All clones contained 5-MeO-DMT, at 0.01% or less in palatable clones versus 0.07% in unpalatable clones, indicating an association between alkaloid content and palatability. |
Abstract
Abstract Indole alkaloid derivatives have been reported in reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L.). We measured the contents of three alkaloids in two palatable and two unpalatable clones of reed canarygrass to study the relationship between alkaloids and palatability. The palatability ratings had been previously determined in cafeteria grazing trials with sheep. Chopped frozen forage from four harvests of each clone was available from previous in vivo digestion and intake trials conducted in 1962 and 1963. Samples from the initial growth and first regrowth of 1962 and first and second regrowth of 1963 were analyzed for gramine (3‐dimethylaminomethylindole), 5 methoxy‐N,N‐dimethyltryptamine (5‐MeO‐DMT), and N,N.dimethyltryptamine (DMT). The assay procedure involved ascending paper chromatography followed by elution and spectrophotometry for quantitative estimation of each compound. The palatable clones contained up to 0.1% gramine, but no DMT. Conversely, the unpalatable clones contained up to 0.02% DMT, but no gramine. All clones contained 5‐MeO‐DMT; however, the palatable clones had 0.01% or less, compared to 0.07% in the unpalatable clones. We found the lowest concentrations of total alkaloids in the initial growth forage and the highest concentrations in the first regrowth of 1963.