Toxicon: X (Mar 2020)

Hemorrhagic diathesis in cattle due to consumption of Adiantopsis chlorophylla (Swartz) Fée (Pteridaceae)

  • Luiz Gustavo Schneider de Oliveira,
  • Fabiana Marques Boabaid,
  • Vaidotas Kisielius,
  • Lars Holm Rasmussen,
  • Florencia Buroni,
  • Martín Lucas,
  • Carlos Omar Schild,
  • Fabiana López,
  • Mizael Machado,
  • Franklin Riet-Correa

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 5

Abstract

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An outbreak of acute febrile syndrome associated with coagulopathy and severe pancytopenia occurred in cattle grazing in paddocks with high infestation by Adiantopsis chlorophylla. The administration of the plant to a calf reproduced the same signs and lesions seen in spontaneous cases. Similar syndromes are caused by ptaquiloside from bracken fern. Traces of the ptaquiloside-like molecule caudatoside were detected together with 0.03–0.24 mg/g of it's degradation product pterosin A, in dry fronds of the plant. In conclusion, A. chlorophylla is a cause of hemorrhagic diathesis in cattle. Keywords: Cattle diseases, Fern toxicity, Hematopoietic diseases, Caudatoside