Risks from plants containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids for livestock and meat quality in Northern Australia

Plants containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) are widespread across the rangelands of northern Australia including Queensland (Qld), the Northern Territory (NT) and the northern half of Western Australia (WA). Livestock exposed to these plants are occasionally poisoned but overall impact of these plants on productivity, while negative, is unquantified. To better assess these impacts, all sources of PA needed to be identified, exposure quantified, and pharmacokinetics of PA metabolism in livestock clarified. [Introduction extract