Pathological aspects of experimental poisoning of goats by Stryphnodendron fissuratum pods (Fabaceae)

Stryphnodendron fissuratum Mart. (Fabaceae) is an importantly toxic plant for livestock in Central-Western Brazil. Despite the recently published clinical descriptions of the poisoning, the gross and histopathological lesions of the disease needed to be better characterized. For this reason the pods of S. fissuratum were given orally to 10 young goats. The goats that received single doses of 10 g/kg, 20 g/kg and 40 g/kg and 4 fractioned doses of 5 g/kg, died poisoned. One goat that received a single dose of 10 g/kg recovered. Only those animals that received one dose of 5 g/kg did not become ill. At post mortem examination, the main lesions were associated with the digestive system and consisted of broken up epithelium and congestion of the mucosa of forestomachs and abomasum. Widespread areas of erosion and ulcerations were observed at the reticula and abomasal mucosa. Int these areas, the main lesions were neutrophil infiltration, vacuolization of the epithelial lining, swelling and dissociation of cells with cytoplasmic eosinophilia, pyknosis, karyorrhexis and nuclear karyolysis. In the central nervous system, the main lesions were identified in the brain of goats that received 20 g/kg and 40 g/kg of pods and consisted of spongiosis of the brainstem white matter. Based on these results, it was proved that the pods of S. fissuratum are acutely toxic for goats under the conditions of this experiment. The poisoning was characterized by damage to the organs of the digestive system and the central nervous system.