Common Poisonous Plants

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Common Poisonous Plants

• John C. Wenzel DVM
• Extension Veterinarian
• New Mexico State University

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Common Poisonous Plantsgoldenrod
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Common Poisonous Plantsgoldenrod

• Toxin- Tremetol
• Toxic dose-1.5 of bodyweight over a period of a
  week
• Dried plants are not as toxic

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Common Poisonous Plantsgoldenrod

• Clinical signs- depression
• reluctance to move
• muscle tremors
• downers
• death
• Treatment- supportive care
• Dont drive cattle that show signs

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Common Poisonous Plantstansy mustard
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Common Poisonous Plantstansy mustard

• Two syndromes
• Neurologic form
• Blindness- partial or complete
• Inability to use tongue
• Liver disease and photosynthesis

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Common Poisonous Plantstansy mustard

• No specific toxin identified
• Treatment- remove from pasture and feed in corral
  for a couple of weeks

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Common Poisonous PlantsMesquite
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Common Poisonous Plantsmesquite

• No specific toxin identified
• Seeds and pods form a sticky mass in rumen and
  can cause a rumen impaction
• Prolonged consumption can cause neurologic signs

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Common Poisonous Plantsmesquite

• Clinical signs- weight loss, poor appetite,
  frothy salivation, emaciation, loss of rumen
  activity, intestinal obstruction
• Neurologic signs- difficulty with chewing and
  eating, masseter muscle atrophy
• Horses are especially susceptible to mesquite
  bean impaction

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Common Poisonous Plantslocoweed,rattleweed
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Common Poisonous Plantslocoweed, rattleweed

• Toxin- three types swainsonine
• 
  -nitroglycosides
• -selenium
  toxicity
• Clinical signs- depends on toxin type
• swainsonine- depression, wobbly gait,
  behavioral changes, incoordination, circling,
  weight loss, inability to eat

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Common Poisonous Plantslocoweed, rattleweed

• nitroglycosides- respiratory difficulty, weight
  loss, wobbly gait, knuckling over of the fetlock
  joints, hindleg weakness and paralysis,
  recumbency and death
• selenium toxicity- chronic-(alkali disease)
• lameness, hairloss, blindness, head pressing,
  hair and hoof abnormalities (bobtail), repro
  failures, liver cirrhosis and heart atrophy

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Common Poisonous Plantslocoweed, rattleweed

• Horses are affected worse than cattle
• Treatment- remove from pasture and feed in
  corral (6 to 12 months)
• Once vacuoles are formed in the brain, they do
  not go away

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Common Poisonous Plantsbroom snakeweed
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Common Poisonous Plantsbroom snakeweed

• Toxins- steroids, terpenoids, saponins and
  flavones
• Triterpene saponins are thought to be the
  principle toxin of snakeweed
• Clinical signs- poor appetite, weight loss,
  diarrhea then constipation, liver abnormalities,
  abortion, weak near term calves that die shortly
  after birth, retained placentas and udder edema

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Common poisonous plantsbroom snakeweed

• Treatment- remove from pasture and treat
  symptomatically

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Common poisonous plantsother plants

• Cyanogenic plants- cyanide poisoning
• Signs- sudden death, rapid breathing, foaming
  at mouth, dilated pupils, ataxia, convulsions and
  muscle tremors
• Treatment- difficult- sodium nitrite and
  sodium thiosulfate IV
• Cyanogenic plants- catclaw, flax, johnsongrass,
  sudan grass, common vetch, others

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Common Poisonous Plantsother plants

• Nitrate plants nitrate toxicity- nitrate
  converted to toxic nitrite
• Clinical signs- weakness, muscle tremors,
  increased heart and respiration rates,
  staggering, downer and death
• Treatment- methylene blue- difficult to find
• Nitrate plants- ragweed, lambs-quarter, kochia,
  clover, johnson and sudan grass, filaree,
  goldenrod, oats, wheat, corn, others

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Questions?

• THANKS!!