Spontaneous poisoning by Palicourea marcgravii (Rubiaceae) in a sheep herd in southeastern Brazil.

This study describes an outbreak of spontaneous poisoning by P. marcgravii in sheep. Forty-nine sheep died while showing clinical signs of sudden death after having access to the plant. During the necropsy, P. marcgravii leaves were observed in the rumens of the animals. Histopathological analysis demonstrated hydropic degeneration of the kidneys. Monofluoracetate concentration obtained in Palicourea samples was 0.53% (5.3 μg/mg). These findings collectively indicate that the affected animals died from poisoning due to P. marcgravii.
PMID: 30825462 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Toxicon - February 26, 2019 Category: Toxicology Authors: Koether K, Lee ST, Belluci RS, Garcia R, Pfister JA, Cunha PHJ, Rocha NS, Borges AS, Oliveira-Filho JP Tags: Toxicon Source Type: research