| Abstract: | An unusual compound of small molecular weight has been detected in serum from horses with acute grass sickness by solvent extractions and thin-layer chromatography. The substance has not been detected in the serum of normal horses or cases of equine colic and apparently disappears from grass sickness serum after two to three days of clinical illness. Although this compound is found in sera which are known to possess in vivo neurotoxicity, this property could not be demonstrated in either the total chloroform extract which contains the compound or in the hydrophilic serum components remaining after extraction. These findings suggest that, although the compound may be related to the neurotoxin present in the original serum, the toxicity is inactivated during the extraction procedure or that the emulsion necessary for administration precludes absorption of an active toxin. |
