Poisoning by cashew apple (Anacardium occidentale L.) in cattle
Rodrigues Ribeiro Filho, MartimSoto-Blanco, Benito
Background: The cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale L.) is a plant grown in tropical regions of the world for production of cashew nuts, one of the most traded on the international market for edible nuts. The cashew apple is used for the production of various foods such as juices and sweets, but it can also be used in animal feed in the regions cashew is planted. The cashew apple can be used directly as feed, but usually it is dried for later use. However, many farmers reported the occurrence of poisoning in cattle promoted by the cashew apples, but this poisoning has not yet described. Thus, this study aimed to describe the poisoning by Anacardium occidentale in cattle.Materials, Methods & Results: It was visited eight farms that often had cases of poisoning by cashew at Rio Grande do Norte state, Brazil, six at the municipality of Mossoró and two at the municipality of Serra do Mel. The farmers were asked whether the animals were fed with cashew apples and the amount supplied to animal, the occurrence of cases of poisoning, species affected, clinical manifestations (clinical signs, severity, and duration of signs), variation in age of affected animals and instituting any treatment. Furthermore, in one of the farms in the city of Mossoró, there were two cattle naturally poisoned by cashew apples given as food. It was recorded the epidemiological survey and clinical evaluat
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