DISTRIBUTION:
• C. ellipticum and C. obtusifolium grows over trees and shrubs in the coastal bush along the eastern coast line.
• C. africanum is most common in the south-western, southern and south-eastern Cape Provinces.
BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION:
Cynanchum africanum
General: These plants are climbers with slender stems and branches. They contain milky, bitter latex that is apparently non-irritant.
Leaves: The leaves of C. africanum are heart-shaped.
Flowers: The flowers of C. africanum are brownish in colour.
Fruit: The horn-shaped fruits contain club-shaped plumed seeds.
Cynanchum ellipticum
General: These plants are climbers with slender stems and branches. They contain milky, bitter latex that is apparently non-irritant.
Leaves: The soft leaves of C. ellipticum are broadly elliptical and with a pronounced tip at the apex. They are in pairs opposite each other with a ring-like thickening at the junction of the leaves and stem.
Flowers: The flowers of C. ellipticum are pungent, white to greenish and have a tubular corolla, which is a distinctive characteristic.
Toxic principle:
Various neurotoxic compounds (cynanchosides) have been isolated from Cynanchum species.
SYNDROMES:
Cynanchosis, Krampsiekte.
CLINICAL SIGNS:
Systems affected: Central nervous system.
• CNS stimulation followed by protracted paralysis.
• Hypersensitivity, incoordination, tremors
• Recurrent tetanic seizures, orthotonus or opisthotonus
• Protracted paralysis (lasting a week or more)
• Nervous signs may be precipitated by a stimulus
Krampsiekte (poisoning with Cynanchum species) is characterized by tetanic seizures, while krimpsiekte is primarily a paretic syndrome.
TREATMENT:
• Symptomatic
• It is often necessary to euthenaze paralyzed animals.
