What are Plant Toxins?
Plants contain a variety of toxic compounds commonly called “secondary compounds” that affect the behavior and productivity of wild and domestic animals. There are many classes of these toxic compounds, however soluble phenolics, alkaloids, and terpenoids are the most common. Soluble phenolics include flavonoids, isoflavonoids, and hydrolysable and condensed tannins. The excessive consumption of flavonoids can produce abortions, sterility, or liver damage. The major problems found in wildlife have occurred in captive animals fed on soybean based feed or clover. Tannins generally have a bitter or astringent taste. In ungulates, tannins affect the digestibility of plant cell walls by binding with microbial enzymes in the rumen and cell tissues of rumen microbes, killing the microbes and reducing fiber fermentation, digestive efficiency and protein availability. As a result, the protein requirements of herbivores and their nutritional status could be negatively affected especially in thos
