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Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

Acute fatal poisoning by spontaneous ingestion of Enterolobium contortisiliquum (Mimosidae) pods in horses.

Journal:
Toxicon : official journal of the International Society on Toxinology
Year:
2019
Authors:
Machado, Mizael et al.
Affiliation:
Veterinary Teaching Hospital · Brazil
Species:
horse

Plain-English summary

In Brazil, there was a serious case of poisoning in horses caused by them eating pods from the Enterolobium contortisiliquum tree. Three horses showed signs of being very tired, eating less than usual, and had yellowing of the skin and eyes. They became unable to stand and sadly died within 24 to 48 hours. When examined, their livers showed significant damage and swelling. This type of poisoning in horses had not been reported before, and unfortunately, the treatment did not save the horses.

Abstract

An outbreak of acute poisoning of horses by Enterolobium contortisiliquum pods is reported in the state of Goiás, Brazil. Three horses presented apathy, hyporexia, prostration, jaundice, recumbency and died in 24-48 hours. The main pathological findings were a yellowish liver with an enhanced lobular pattern, multifocal hepatic necrosis mostly in the midzones of lobules and sometimes with a random distribution across the hepatic lobes and swelling of hepatocytes. E. contortisiliquum trees has a wide distribution in South America and cases of poisoning have not been reported in horses.

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Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31330192/