Veterinary and human toxicology
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We observed 2 cases of severe limb defects in infants following the use of sympathomimetic drugs during pregnancy. The mother of I had taken large doses of Primatene (ephedrine, theophylline, phenobarbital) as tablets and mist throughout pregnancy. The infant was born with oligoectrosyndactyly. ⋯ Experimental studies in pregnant rabbits using Primatene in both low and high dosage resulted in limb reduction defects and other malformations in a significant number of the offspring compared with controls. Limb defects in the offspring of chicks following exposure to sympathomimetic drugs had previously been observed. We suggest that these agents may be teratogenic in the human and should be used with great caution or avoided during pregnancy.
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A method is described for the analysis of taxine alkaloids by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. It is applicable to the detection of taxine alkaloids in the stomach contents of horses in which Taxus poisoning is suspected. Analysis of a leaf extract of Taxus baccata revealed unreported alkaloids of the same relative molecular mass as taxine B and isotaxine B.