Experimental poisoning in cattle by the seeds of Abrus precatorius

Abstract

Experiments with seeds of Abrus precatorius L., administered orally to bovines, were made. There are only few data in the literature on poisoning of cattle due to ingestion of the seeds, in spite of the many citations on the toxicity of the plant. The seeds of A. precatorius are believed to be responsible for cattle deaths in Brazil. The results of 44 experiments are given. In most of the experiments the entire seeds in their ripe state were administered, in a proportion of 0.09 to 1.2 g/kg. The symptoms of poisoning were loss of apetite and diarrea, in one case death. The ingestion of the seeds induced immunity against poisoning by A. precatorius and also against poisoning caused by seeds of Ricinus communis. Based on their field studies and on their experiments, the authors think that there is only a very small possibility in occurring poisoning of cattle by spontaneous ingestion of A. precatorius seeds. These animals, under natural conditions, will not find and ingest, at one time, sufficient quantities of seeds in order to get poisoned. On the other hand, the immunity confered to the animals by eating only small amounts of the seeds turn this possibility even smaller.