Outbreak of ragwort (Senecio jacobea) poisoning in horses.
Five out of 20 horses (25 per cent) on one farm died from an acute hepatic encephalopathy typical of ragwort toxicosis. Circumstantial evidence implicated pasture rather than hay as the principal source of the toxic alkaloids. Plasma levels of gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) were determined on three occasions in all surviving ragwort-exposed horses. Elevated GGT levels were a useful early indicator of hepatic damage although not all horses with this biochemical sign developed clinical disease.
D000818:Animals; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D006501:Hepatic Encephalopathy / Q000201:enzymology / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000201:enzymology / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006736:Horses; D010939:Plant Poisoning / Q000201:enzymology / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D010947:Plants, Toxic; D011763:Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids / Q000506:poisoning; D012674:Senecio; D006113:United Kingdom; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase / Q000097:blood
D011763:Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase