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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Logan, Utah » Poisonous Plant Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #370328
Research Project: Understanding and Mitigating the Adverse Effects of Poisonous Plants on Livestock Production Systems

Location: Poisonous Plant Research

Title: Identifying plant poisoning in livestock in North America

Author
item Stegelmeier, Bryan
item Davis, Thomas - Zane
item CLAYTON, MICHAEL - Utah State University
item Gardner, Dale

Submitted to: Veterinary Clinics of North America
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/31/2020
Publication Date: 10/5/2020
Citation: Stegelmeier, B.L., Davis, T.Z., Clayton, M.J., Gardner, D.R. 2020. Identifying plant poisoning in livestock in North America. Veterinary Clinics of North America. 36:661-671. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cvfa.2020.08.001.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cvfa.2020.08.001

Interpretive Summary: It is human nature to blame food for any upset stomach or disease. Similarly poisonous plant intoxication is one of the first considerations for a variety of livestock diseases and unexplained animal deaths. And although toxic plants commonly poison livestock, obtaining a definitive diagnosis is often difficult and challenging. The objectives of this paper are to provide a framework to help livestock producers, veterinarians, and diagnosticians arrive at the most accurate and definitive diagnosis. For this discussion poisoning caused by plants containing dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids (DHPAs) will be used to provide examples and suggestions for investigating and sampling. It will also be used as an example as how to recruit expert collaborators, diagnostic resources and information sources to amass the required expertise, information and laboratory results to produce the best diagnosis.

Technical Abstract: It is human nature to blame food for any upset stomach or disease. Similarly poisonous plant intoxication is one of the first considerations for a variety of livestock diseases and unexplained animal deaths. And although toxic plants commonly poison livestock, obtaining a definitive diagnosis is often difficult and challenging. The objectives of this paper are to provide a framework to help livestock producers, veterinarians, and diagnosticians arrive at the most accurate and definitive diagnosis. For this discussion poisoning caused by plants containing dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids (DHPAs) will be used to provide examples and suggestions for investigating and sampling. It will also be used as an example as how to recruit expert collaborators, diagnostic resources and information sources to amass the required expertise, information and laboratory results to produce the best diagnosis.