Chemical and Physical Papers. 49 



LOCO WEED AND LOCO POISON. 



By L. E. Sayre. Univ^ersity of Kansas. Lawrence. 



T>Y REFERRING to the Sixth Biennial Report of the Kansas 

 -*-^ Board of Agriculture, page 147, and other publications by this 

 department, it will be noted that the investigation of the poisonous 

 qualities of the loco weeds was inaugurated in 1886 by the above 

 board, under direction of the writer. The geographical distribu- 

 tion of the plant in the state and bordering states, the description 

 of the various species of loco plants, and a chemical examination 

 of these, were made and reported upon. 



As all of the various physiological symptoms produced by the 

 loco were reported as caused by opium or some such vegetable 

 poison, everyone felt pretty sure that the so-called loco poison must 

 be that of a vegetable io-vic principle, somewhat akin to that of 

 morphine or to that of any of the numerous narcotic alkaloidal 

 poisons. A thorough analysis of the loco plants, however, proved 

 conclusively that such a vegetable poison did not exist. However, 

 it was shown that minute quantities of an alkaloid existed in the 

 plant, but not in sufficient quantity to account for the reputed ac- 

 tion of the loco upon stock. The cause of the poisonous action of 

 the drug was therefore an enigma. A medical writer, speaking of 

 the mystery of the problem, says: "The disease called loco is as 

 murky as was milk sickness, so prevalent in Indiana and Kentucky 

 in early days." ^ Loco plants, it was finally conceded, were poison- 

 ous to animals, but were without action upon human beings. "So 

 far as I can learn," the above writer adds, "it neither impresses the 

 human being therapeutically nor is possessed of any remarkable 

 physiological power, and as an active physiologif^al agent it has 

 passed silently into oblivion." 



The writer never ceased to regard the subject of loco poisoning 

 as one of the greatest importance to the farmer and ranchman, and 

 made continuous eflPort to keep the subject before scientists, in the 

 hope that others would join in the investigation. (Quoting from 

 the Sixth Biennial Report, page 147, it was observed: "It might 

 seem a very easy matter to reach a conclusion upon this subject, 

 which is of such vital interest to the farmer and ranchman of the 

 West, but to do this and satisfy the demands of science it re- 



1. Eclectic Med. Journal. Oct., 1893, page 482. 

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