Isolation and identification of trichothecenes from Fusarium compactum suspected in the aetiology of a major intoxication of sandhill cranes

Waste peanuts contaminated with Fusarium species have been implicated in the deaths of an estimated 5000 sandhill cranes in Gaines County, Texas, in 1985. Isoneosolaniol and other unidentified mycotoxins have been isolated from culture extracts of Fusarium compactum derived from the waste peanuts involved in the intoxication of the cranes. The structure of isoneosolaniol was determined by super(1)H and super(13)C NMR analyses and mass spectrometry. This mycotoxin was also shown to be highy toxic to 1-day-old chickens and a HEp2 cell culture assay. These results indicate that the cause of the sandhill crane intoxication was trichothecene mycotoxins either acting alone or in combination with other Fusarium mycotxins.