Treatment of Experimentally Induced Lantana Poisoning in Sheep

Lantana poisoning was induced in sheep by giving 4 g kg(-1) Lantana camara orally. When the contents of the rumen were removed from sheep three or six days after giving them lantana and placed into the empty rumens of normal sheep, the recipient sheep became intoxicated. Administration of purgatives such as raw linseed oil or Glauber's salts orally, or administration of bethanechol subcutaneously failed to stimulate rumen motility in lantana poisoned sheep and are therefore unlikely to be effective in eliminating residual toxin from the rumen. Intravenous administration of a multiple electrolyte solution to lantana poisoned sheep improved rumen motility, and motility was increased even more when 2-3 1 of freshly collected rumen liquid was given orally to rehydrated animals. However, these treatments did not restore motility to normal and animals treated by these methods did not survive the intoxications. The effect of manually removing the rumen contents from sheep with lantana poisoning was studied in sheep with chronically-implanted rumen cannulae. When the rumen contents were removed from sheep three days after lantana was given and replaced with fresh rumen contents or a multiple electrolyte solution, there was a significant increase in survival compared with untreated sheep. Removal of rumen contents at six days and replacement with fresh rumen contents or simulated rumen contents containing a buffered mixture ( pH 6.7, - 330 mV) of lucerne and rumen liquid, also significantly increased survival, but replacement with a multiple electrolyte solution did not. It is concluded that lantana poisoning can be treated by removing the residual toxin from the rumen and re-establishing rumen fermentation.