The toxic effect of Crotalaria extract on the liver of rats.

INFUSIONS of plants used as " bush teas " or herbal remedies in Jamaica are believed to be concerned in the aetiology of veno-occlusive disease of the liver. This disease, as described by Bras and Hill (1956), is characterised by ascites, hepatomegaly and occluded hepatic veins. The plants used include the genus Crotalaria which contains the pyrrolizidine group of alkaloids usually referred to as the " senecio alkaloids ". The pathogenesis of poisoning by these alkaloids is undetermined, and there is no agreement as to whether the primary lesion is in the vascular system or the liver cells. In this work.the acute liver changes, culminating in centrilobular necrosis, were studied in rats given a single dose of crotalaria extract.