Are The Pods And Leaves Of Prosopis Juliflora Growing In Baringo Kenya Toxic To Livestock? Chemical Analysis Perspectives

Abstract

Studies were carried out to understand the reasons of the reported toxicity of Prosopis juliflora pods and leaves to livestock in Baringo, Kenya. Pods and leaves were extracted with acetone, dichloromethane, water and toluene/ethanol separately using soxhlet method (10-12 cycles per hour for 12 hours) to evaluate % crude extracts. Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), Fourier- Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), 1H NMR(Proton nuclear magnetic resonance) analysis of crude extracts, NIST(National Institute of Standards and Technology) library and literature information indicated that P.Juliflora pods contain upto 6.3% unsaturated fatty acids such as hexadecanoic acid, octadecanoic acid, palmitic acid, dehydroabietic acid, oxyhydroabietic acid, free sugars such as sucrose and glucose, mannose, galactomanans and traces of aromatic compounds. Extracts from the leaves of P. juliflora contain upto 8.5% alkaloids such as tryptamine, piperidine,phenethylamine and juliprosopine described in literature as having antifungal and plant growth inhibiting properties as well as capable of inducing neuronal damages in animals. GC-MS analysis further indicates the presence of an important quantity of fatty acids such as hexadecanoic and octadecanoic acids, glucopyranose, hydroquinone, glucopyranosides and galactose sugar in leaves extractives. Such amount and diverse chemical products in edible parts of one plant species may work in a synergistic manner in ruminants and livestock to induce the reported toxicity.