Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 23, 2026

Source and Route of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid Contamination in Tea Samples
Published on: September 28, 2022
Piperidine alkaloids: human and food animal teratogens
Benedict T Green1, Stephen T Lee, Kip E Panter
1Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Logan, UT 84341, USA. Ben.Green@ars.usda.gov
Abstract:
Piperidine alkaloids are acutely toxic to adult livestock species and produce musculoskeletal deformities in neonatal animals. These teratogenic effects include multiple congenital contracture (MCC) deformities and cleft palate in cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats. Poisonous plants containing teratogenic piperidine alkaloids include poison hemlock (Conium maculatum), lupine (Lupinus spp.), and tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) [including wild tree tobacco (Nicotiana glauca)]. There is abundant epidemiological evidence in humans that link maternal tobacco use with a high incidence of oral clefting in newborns; this association may be partly attributable to the presence of piperidine alkaloids in tobacco products. In this review, we summarize the evidence for piperidine alkaloids that act as teratogens in livestock, piperidine alkaloid structure-activity relationships and their potential implications for human health.
Related Concept Videos
Physical Properties of Amines
Teratogenicity
Toxicity Testing in Animals
Drug Toxicity: Dose-Dependent Reactions
Mutagenicity and Carcinogenicity
Types of Toxins
Air pollutants, primarily gases, pose significant threats to respiratory health, leading to conditions like hypoxia, lung cancer, and in extreme cases, death.
Environmental pollutants like...
