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

Abstract

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