Comparison of enterotoxicity between autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale L.) and colchicine in the guinea pig and mouse : enterotoxicity in the guinea pig differs from that in the mouse.

Autumn crocus poisoning of cattle is characterized by severe diarrhea caused by alkaloid colchicine. Previously, we examined pathologically this poisoning in cattle and reported that enterotoxic lesions were closely associated with apoptosis. To examine enterotoxicity of autumn crocus more precisely, a reproductive study was performed using guinea pigs and mice, and pathological findings associated with autumn crocus poisoning were compared with those of colchicine. Each group of guinea pigs given the bulb of autumn crocus or colchicine exhibited severe diarrhea. Histopathological findings in intoxicated guinea pigs were entirely consistent with those in the autumn crocus-poisoned cattle. In contrast, each group of mice administered with the bulb or colchicine did not develop diarrhea. Our results confirmed that the toxicity of autumn crocus bulb is attributable to the toxicity of ingredient colchicine, and revealed that the guinea pig has high reproducibility of autumn crocus poisoning in cattle and colchicine poisoning in humans. It has been reported that the physiological mechanism of the apoptotic process for eliminating the enterocytes in the mouse and rat differs from that of the guinea pig, monkey, cattle and horse. Taking the observation that the former animals do not develop diarrhea, whereas the latter animals do so in the autumn crocus or colchicine poisoning into consideration, it would seem that the species-difference in enterotoxicity of autumn crocus may be closely associated with the physiological mechanism of eliminating the effete enterocytes.