[Haley]

A discussion on Johnson Grass:

“When cattle ingest the plants high in hydrocyanic glycoside and break them down by chewing, prussic acid is released in the rumen and absorbed into the blood stream. Whitworth explained that once prussic acid reaches the circulatory system, the toxin prevents cells in the body from taking up oxygen. The blood becomes saturated with oxygen that cannot be absorbed by cells, and cattle perish from asphyxiation within minutes.”

“When an animal displays signs of prussic acid toxicity, the producer should immediately remove all animals that appear to be normal to a new pasture and contact their veterinarian. Sick animals can recover if treated quickly with sodium nitrite and sodium thiosulfate to reverse the toxicity.”

Prussic-acid-toxicity-explained-as-recent-drought-ramps-up-risk-_-Oklahoma-State-University.pdf 995 KB PDF - Click to view

• Copy Download Link