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Phomopsin, the mycotoxin produced by Phomopsis leptostromiformis, was found to have a very high toxicity for sheep. When administered as a single, subcutaneous injection over the dose range 1 X 25 to 98 microgram/kg body weight, all sheep given 37 X 5 microgram/kg or more died. Some, though not all, died following lower doses, the minimum lethal dose being 10 microgram/kg. The time course of hepatic response over 21 days after phomopsin administration was followed by plasma biochemical analyses including those for some enzymes (glutamate dehydrogenase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase), total bilirubin and the determination of bromosulphophthalein clearance rates. Hepatobiliary impairment was apparent after all dosages of 2.5 microgram/kg and above while 1.25 microgram/kg approximated the 'no effect' level.

Pure phomopsin was administered to young Merino x Border Leicester wethers by single subcutaneous (SC) and by single and multiple intraruminal (IR) injection. The toxicity after IR injection was influenced by the size of individual doses and the time over which the total dose was given. At high levels of ingestion the toxicity of phomopsin may be limited by absorption rates; with low daily doses the capacity to repair liver damage may be sufficient to prevent cumulative effects. By SC injection a single dose of 10 micrograms/kg approximated the LD50. By IR injection the overall clinical, biochemical and histological responses closest to these of this SC dose resulted from a single dose of 1,000 micrograms/kg. The same total dose administered at daily rates of 50 or 200 micrograms/kg was more toxic and killed all sheep. A single dose of 500 micrograms/kg caused significant liver damage, but no deaths. Single doses of 125 and 250 micrograms/kg and repeated daily doses of 12.5 micrograms/kg over 16 weeks caused no detectable tissue damage. Inappetence was the most sensitive indicator of phomopsin toxicity. About 10% of the sheep differed substantially from the rest of the flock in their susceptibility to phomopsin poisoning.

Quantitative toxicity studies were carried out in sheep using corynetoxin, tunicamycin and toxic annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum). Sheep were very sensitive to these toxins. The lethal dose was about 35 micrograms/kg bodyweight for pure tunicamycin given by subcutaneous injection and 3 to 5 mg/kg for corynetoxin administered orally as slurries of bacterial galls of known corynetoxin content. The total lethal dose was of the same order, whether given as a single dose or as repeated smaller doses, the maximum interval tested being 9 weeks between doses. This finding indicates that a second exposure of animals to toxic rye grass in the one season would present a greater risk than would a first exposure to the same field. It also demonstrates the advisability of the monitoring of pasture levels of gall contamination, as levels below those that produce clinical signs of the disease may still contribute to an accumulating burden of toxicity.