AMMONIATED FORAGE POISONING - ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ALKYL-SUBSTITUTED IMIDAZOLES IN AMMONIATED FORAGE AND IN MILK

A study has been performed to isolate and identify toxic nitrogen-cont aining compounds in ammoniated forages and in milk samples from sheep and a cow fed with ammoniated forages. Together with two previously id entified imidazoles, 4-methylimidazole and 8-methylimidazole, the foll owing imidazoles were isolated: 1,2-dimethyl-, 1,4-dimethyl-, 1,5-dime thyl-, 2,4-dimethyl-, and 2-ethyl-4-methylimidazole. The imidazoles we re identified with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and gas chroma tography with nitrogen-phosphorus detector on a polar capillary column (Carbowax 51) after cleanup on a strong cation-exchange column.