Barium: A Cause of the Loco-Weed DiseaseCrawford, Albert C. (Albert Cornelius)
Science
Barium: A Cause of the Loco-Weed Disease
Crawford, Albert C. (Albert Cornelius)
Astragalus earlei; Barium
[191] Barium has been found in well water in England. See
Thorpe, T. E., Contribution to the History of the Old Sulphur
Well, Harrogate, in Philos. Mag., 5 s., vol. 2, p. 50, 1876.
=FEEDING EXPERIMENTS WITH BARIUM SALTS ON ANIMALS IN THE LABORATORY.=
On these figures the writer took 0.2 gram of crystallized barium acetate
c. p., using the acetate because acetic acid has been proved in certain
loco plants by Power and Cambier, and after dissolving it in water fed
it at 9.45 a.m. to a rabbit weighing 1,177 grams. The head soon fell
forward so that the nose rested on the ground. At 10.58 a.m. the rabbit
seemed unable to guide itself and would run into obstructions if forced
to move. There was no diarrhea but it urinated several times. There was
a peculiar tremor of the muscles noted. The animal would not startle by
sudden noises and at 11.06 a.m. could be placed on its back with ease.
The pupils appeared about normal. The whites of the eyes showed very
prominently. At 11.35 a.m. the fore legs were paralyzed. The following
morning the animal was dead, its weight being 1,120 grams. The heart was
dilated; the stomach was not hemorrhagic, but rather pale.
A second rabbit, which weighed 1,630 grams, was fed with a solution of
0.5 gram of the same salt at 9.42 a.m. At 10.35 a.m. the animal passed
soft stools and showed a marked disinclination to move, with evidence of
pain. The diarrhea[192] became more marked and the animal's hind
quarters were soiled with feces. At 10.48 a.m. there was marked
incoordination of the limbs and inability to stand. Finally, at 10.56 a.
m., convulsions began and the animal died at 11.02 a.m. The autopsy was
made about two hours later. The animal was then rigid. The kidneys
seemed rather congested. The intestines were relaxed; mesenteric vessels
dilated. The pyloric region of the stomach appeared hemorrhagic.
A third rabbit, fed like the preceding with 0.5 gram of barium acetate,
showed much the same result. In this case there was some retching, but
the other symptoms were as above, the animal dying in one hour and five
minutes. No hemorrhages were seen in the stomach walls. It was noted
that after the administration of certain doses, 0.2 gram, there was no
diarrhea.
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