This article outlines the history of ergot of rye up to 1900. Ergot is a fungal disease that affects many grasses but is particularly damaging to rye. It occurs as the result of an infection by the parasitic organism Claviceps purpurea, which produces characteristic black spurs on the grass. When incorporated into grain, the ergot fungus can cause severe outbreaks of poisoning in humans called ...

Tall fescue toxicosis and other maladies in livestock result from the ingestion of vasoconstrictive ergot alkaloids produced by fungal endophytes associated symbiotically with the grass. In order to facilitate future analyses of grass extracts considered responsible for outbreak of related livestock diseases, we examined the electrospray ionization mass spectra of specific ergot alkaloids under...

new and interesting preparations which are the results of recent researches. The advantages possessed by ' Ernutin,' the active therapeutic principle of ergot in its purest form, are widely recognised. Another preparation of ergot, however, has lately been introduced under the trade name of ' Tyramine.' ' Tyramine' presents the chief active constituent of aqueous extracts of ergot, the organic ...

Ergot, caused by Claviceps purpurea (Fr.:Fr.) Tul., is an important disease of grasses grown for seed. Ergot can be especially severe in Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) seed production, with yield losses estimated as high as 25% (2). Claviceps purpurea invades the ovary, replacing the potential seed with a hard black sclerotium. Sclerotia are typically one to several times longer than the...

Ergot is a disease of cereals and grasses caused by fungi in the genus Claviceps. Of particular concern are Claviceps purpurea in temperate regions, C. africana in sorghum (worldwide), and C. fusiformis in pearl millet (Africa, Asia). The fungi infect young, usually unfertilized ovaries, replacing the seeds by dark mycelial masses known as sclerotia. The percentage of sclerotia in marketable gr...

Citation: Klotz JL and Smith DL (2015) Recent investigations of ergot alkaloids incorporated into plant and/or animal systems. Front. Chem. 3:23. Ergot alkaloids have been associated with endophyte-infected grasses (e.g., the Epichloë, Bacon et al., 1977 and Balansia, Porter et al., 1979 spp.) with examples including tall fescue and fescue toxico-sis in the United States (Yates et al., 1985) as...

Naturally occurring and semisynthetic ergot alkaloids play a role in health care or as recreational drugs in Western and indigenous Mexican societies. Evidence is summarized that ergot alkaloids present in Central American Convolvulaceae like Turbina corymbosa, Ipomoea violacea, and Ipomoea asarifolia are colonized by different species of a newly described clavicipitaceous fungal genus named Pe...

Two experiments were performed to determine whether administration of ergotamine tartrate altered embryo development (Exp. 1) and uterine competency to establish pregnancy (Exp. 2) in beef cattle. Animals were fed daily either 0 (CON) or 40 mug/kg body weight of ergotamine tartrate (ERGOT). Following a 30-d period on respective diets, animals in Exp. 1 were artificial inseminated at estrus (d =...

1. Claim. (C. 195-81) The present invention relates to a process for the prepa ration of ergotamine, ergotaminine and ergometrine by Saprophytic culture of ergot (Claviceps purpurea Frl Tul.) in vitro and isolation of the alkaloids thus pro duced. According to this invention, a suitable strain of ergot (Ciaviceps purpurea Fr Tul.) can be cultured in vitro on a suitable nutrient medium under cer...

Ergot-induced disease in humans was known long before Biblical times and has been the root cause for countless human epidemics spanning from the early fourteenth century to the late sixteenth century. In contrast, many of these same ergot alkaloids have been utilized for their medicinal properties to mitigate migraine headaches and have had indications as anti-carcinogens. Although ergot alkalo...