*13.3.1. Animal toxicity*

The fresh or dried/roasted seeds have demonstrated toxicity in several animal studies [54]. Toxicity in animals is usually seen on the kidney, liver, skeletal muscle and the heart. Grazing animals such as cattle, sheep, horses and goats have shown toxicity upon the ingestion of large amount of the seed pods, the most poisonous even though all parts of the plants have shown some level of toxicity [55, 56].

Although the toxicity of the plant has been demonstrated in different animal species, the toxicity of the pod and bean is dose-dependent: low doses result in mild liver damage and myodegeneration while higher doses cause fatal hepatic degeneration followed by myodegeneration [56]. As the amount of *Cassia* in the animal's diet increases, muscle degeneration becomes a predominant characteristic of the poisoning and cause of the clinical signs. Roasting the seeds from the pod has, however, been shown to reduce the toxicity. Studies in rats [57] and chicken [58] fed a ration with *C. occidentalis* seeds at different concentrations showed histopathological and biochemical changes in muscles, liver and central nervous system. Barbosa-Ferreira et al. [57] in a study involved Wistar rats in four groups of 10 animals each, three of them fed rations containing 1, 2 and 4%, respectively, of *C. occidentalis* seeds, and the control fed normal commercial ration for a period of 2 weeks; rats in the experimental groups showed lethargy, weakness, among other adverse reactions. Histopathological study showed fiber degenerations in the skeletal and cardiac muscles. In the liver parenchyma, vacuolar degeneration was observed and, in the kidney, mild necrosis in the proximal convoluted tubules. All the adverse effects occurred in a dose-dependent manner [57].

Haraguchi et al. [58] studied the chronic effect of varying concentrations of *C. occidentalis* seeds in broiler chicks. All birds were killed on day 49 of age. Low doses of seeds showed no significant variation in biochemical parameters compared to the control group. Degenerative changes in striated skeletal muscles particularly pectoral as well as the liver and myocardium were observed in chicks treated with 0.3 and 0.5% of *Cassia* beans.
