Crotalaria spectabilis poisoning in horses fed contaminating oats

Lacerda, Maira dos Santos Carneiro; Wilson, Taís Meziara; Argenta, Verônica Lourença de Souza; Pinto, Érika Garcia de Araújo; Macêdo, Juliana Targino Silva Almeida e; Soto-Blanco, Benito; Keller, Kelly Moura; Pedroso, Pedro Miguel Ocampos; Câmara, Antônio Carlos Lopes

doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2021.04.001

Cited by 6 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Another reported effect was the suppression of the blastogenic response to B and T cell mitogens (21,22). It is also important to note that microscopic evaluation of livers from Crotalaria-poisoned horses showed lymphohistiocytic inflammatory infiltrate (5).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After careful manual separation, we found that one kg of oats contained 10 g of seeds compatible with the Crotalaria spp. The diagnosis of C. spectabilis seed poisoning in horses fed with contaminated oats was established based on the background information, clinical and pathological findings, identification of ingested seeds and adult plants, and measurement of PAs (5). Aflatoxins and fumonisins were measured in the ration and their concentrations ranged from 0 to 0.025 and 1.29 ppm, respectively, which are lower than the minimum concentrations that considered toxic to horses (0.2 ppm for aflatoxins and 10 ppm for fumonisins) (5).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Crotalaria is a plant genus belonging to the Fabaceae family, and it is responsible for the poisoning of horses worldwide (1)(2)(3)(4)(5). These plants contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), which are bioactivated by the cytochrome P450 system after ingestion, forming toxic pyrrole derivatives.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The clinical signs observed in horses poisoned by Crotalaria plants include apathy or depression, ataxia, weight loss, jaundice, aimless wandering, violent behaviors, and proprioceptive deficits (1)(2)(3)5). The main pathological finding in horses with Crotalaria poisoning is increased GGT activity due to liver damage (4,8).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The main pathological finding in horses with Crotalaria poisoning is increased GGT activity due to liver damage (4,8). Other pathological findings include liver necrosis and fibrosis, megalocytosis, bile stasis, presence of Alzheimer's type II astrocytes in the brain, edema and hemorrhage in the lungs, and degeneration and necrosis of the tubular epithelium of the kidneys (1)(2)(3)5).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hematological and Serum Biochemical Changes and Their Prognostic Value in Horses Spontaneously Poisoned by Crotalaria spectabilis

et al. 2022

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Determining the prognosis of poisoning by plants containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids is usually challenging. This study aimed to identify important prognostic parameters that can determine the severity of spontaneous poisoning by Crotalaria spectabilis in horses. Blood samples from 42 horses spontaneously poisoned by oats contaminated with C. spectabilis seeds were evaluated. Complete blood counts (CBC) and serum biochemical tests [urea, creatinine, total protein, albumin, total and direct bilirubin concentrations, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and creatine kinase (CK) activities] were performed. Horses were followed up for 12 months to determine the long-term survival rate; after 12 months, they were divided into two groups: survivors (n = 30) and non-survivors (n = 12). Horses spontaneously poisoned with C. spectabilis had higher levels of urea, globulin, bilirubin (total, direct, and indirect), AST, GGT, and CK than the reference values. Non-survivor horses showed significantly higher (p < 0.05) values of hemoglobin, GGT, and direct bilirubin than the survivor horses. Horses with serum GGT activity higher than 95 U/l had 14.0 times the risk of death compared to animals showing activities equal to or lower than this value, whereas horses with serum direct bilirubin concentration higher than 0.6 mg/dl (10.26 μmol/L) had 5.78 times the risk of death compared to the others. In summary, serum GGT activity and direct bilirubin concentration may be useful prognostic indicators for assessing the severity of C. spectabilis-poisoned horses.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%