Experimental ammonia poisoning in cattle fed extruded or prilled urea: clinical findings

Effect of supplementing crossbred Xhosa lop-eared goat castrates with Moringa oleifera leaves on growth performance, carcass and non-carcass characteristics

“…More so, some of the crop residues require expensive inputs, such as urea, to provide alternative nitrogen. Urea is known to have toxic effects to animals, which is highly likely if feeds are improperly mixed (Antonelli et al 2004). Consequently, the energy and nitrogen intake of animals raised on these feeds cannot sustain adequate levels of performance, leading to low growth, delayed animal sexual maturity, poor reproductive performance, poor meat quality and low milk yield (Gebregiorgis et al 2011).…”

Intoxicação por amônia em bovinos que receberam uréia extrusada ou granulada: alterações em alguns componentes bioquímicos do sangue

“…A amônia per se é muito irritativa ao trato pulmonar, podendo causar a migração de fluídos para os pulmões resultando em edema pulmonar, que é um achado freqüente em necropsias de animais intoxicados por amônia. 16 Para Antonelli et al 10 , grande parte desta desidratação é causada pelo edema pulmonar. Mas outro fator também deve colaborar para este aumento do seqüestro de líquidos do sangue, pois animais que desenvolveram desidratação leve não apresentaram edema pulmonar, sugerindo a realização de maiores estudos para entender melhor a dinâmica dos fluídos sangüíneos na intoxicação por amônia.…”

“…7,10,11 O diagnóstico de intoxicação por amônia é realizado com base no histórico de ingestão de grandes quantidades de fonte de NNP, associado à presença de sintomas característicos, e à determinação laboratorial da concentração de amônia no sangue ou líquido ruminal.…”

Rumen Microbiology: From Evolution to Revolution

“…Hart et al ( 1939 ) found that cattle fed for a year with a ration containing 4.3 % urea showed hypertrophy of the kidneys upon slaughter, but there was no evidence of toxicity. Pathological changes may also be found in the liver, lungs, kidneys, and brain (Hart et al 1939 ;Antonelli et al 2004 ;Srinivasan et al 2008 ). Harris and Mitchell ( 1941 ) could not detect any evidence of injury to withers fed with a ration having 3.2 % urea.…”

“…A case of acute urea toxicity in a buffalo heifer was successfully treated after administering with 2.5 L of 5 % acetic acid followed by 1 L of acetic acid after 30 min (Kulkarni and Kulkarni 2002 ). Animals that exhibit severe toxicity could be treated intravenously with 1 mL/kg body weight of commercial solution of urea-cycle amino acids (improve ammonia metabolism in the liver), 1 mg/kg body weight of furosemide (diuretic), and 20 mL/kg body weight isotonic saline solution (Antonelli et al 2004 ). Using rumen pH and ability to neutralize ammonia as indicators, Oltjen et al ( 1964 ) suggested that acetic acid is several times more effective than glutamic acid in preventing signs of urea toxicity.…”