Toxicity of seeds of three Aesculus spp to chicks and hamsters

Seeds of horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum), Ohio buckeye (A glabra), and yellow buckeye (A octandra) were tested for toxicity to 2-week-old Leghorn chicks and adult female Syrian hamsters. The LD50 of the water soluble portion of alcoholic extracts of horse-chestnut seeds (for hamsters and chicks) and of dried, powdered seeds (chicks only) was determined. The LD50 for a single dose of extract from horse-chestnut seeds was 10.6 mg/g of body weight for chicks and 10.7 mg/g of body weight for hamsters. The LD50 for chicks given 2 consecutive daily doses of horse-chestnut seed was 6.5 mg/g. Toxic signs included depression, muscular incoordination, paralysis, coma, and death. Extracts of seeds of Ohio buckeye were nontoxic to chicks and hamsters when fed at 80 mg/g. One of 5 hamsters died after dosing for 5 days with 80 mg/g of extract of seeds of yellow buckeye/g.