Experimental Albizia versicolor poisoning in sheep and its successful treatment with pyridoxine hydrochloride

Abstract

Five sheep developed severe nervous signs after being drenched with Albizia versicolor podmaterial. Four of these sheep were treated with pyridoxine hydrochloride (a vitamin B₆) when the symptoms of toxicity became life-threatening. All the treated sheep recovered dramatically and completely after treatment while the untreated one died 2 h after receiving pod-material. A therapeutic dose of 20-25 mg pyridoxine hydrochloride/kg body mass given twice with an 8 h interval is the recommended treatment regimen. The route of administration will depend on the severity of symptoms. Chemical pathology and post-mortem findings are discussed.