Kelch W J, Kerr L A, Adair H S, Boyd G D
Department of Environmental Practice, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville 37901-1071.
Vet Hum Toxicol. 1992 Jun;34(3):238-9.
A presumptive diagnosis of buttercup toxicosis with photosensitization secondary to hepatotoxicity was made in an 18-mo-old Charolais heifer. The differential diagnosis included salmonellosis, aflatoxicosis, bovine virus diarrhea, internal parasite infestation, and plant toxicosis with either primary or secondary photosensitization. All these possibilities were excluded except buttercup toxicosis with photosensitization secondary to hepatotoxicity. While this diagnosis was not absolutely confirmed, it was the most likely cause of the disease and raised the intriguing possibility that protoanemonin, buttercup's toxic principle, is hepatotoxic.
