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Year 2012 - Volume 32, Number 12
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Spontaneous Senna obtusifolia poisoning in cattle in the state of Parana, Brazil, 32(12):1263-1271
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ABSTRACT.- Queiroz G.R., Ribeiro R.C.L., Romão F.T.N.M.A., Flaiban K.K.M.C., Bracarense A.P.F.R.L. & Lisbôa J.A.N. 2012. [Spontaneous Senna obtusifolia poisoning in cattle in the state of Parana, Brazil.] Intoxicação espontânea de bovinos por Senna obtusifolia no estado do Paraná. Pesquisa Veterinária Brasileira 32(12):1263-1271. Departamento de Clínicas Veterinárias, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Campus Universitário, Cx. Postal 6001, Londrina, PR 86051-990, Brazil. E-mail: janlisboa@uel.br
Plants of the genus Senna cause a degenerative myopathy in cattle and most of the reports refer to Senna occidentalis. The aim of this paper is to report, for the second time in Brazil, an outbreak of natural poisoning by Senna obtusifolia. It happened in the northwestern Paraná in a herd of 200 cows, 45 to 152 months of age, which had been placed into a feedlot to improve their nutritional status before the calving period. The cows stayed for eight days in this feedlot infested by the plant. Four to nine days after they got into the feedlot, 20 cows became ill and only one recovered. The clinical signs consisted of myoglobinuria, incoordination and permanent sternal recumbency. The affected cows showed increased activity of creatine phosphokinase, aspartate aminotransferase, gama-glutamyltransferase, and alkaline phosphatase. The main postmortem changes were in skeletal muscles of the hind limbs characterized by pale areas. The histological alterations were multifocal segmental necrosis of skeletal muscles and hepatic multifocal paracentral necrosis. Epidemiological, clinical and pathological data led to the diagnosis of Senna obtusifolia poisoning. The plant showed miotoxic and hepatotoxic effects on the poisoned animals and the disease was almost always lethal. |
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