Question

Cattle fed with spoilt hay of sweet clover which contains dicumarol ..........................

• A. Are healthier due to a good diet
• B. Catch infections easily
• C. May suffer vitamin K deficiency and prolonged bleeding
• D. May suffer from Beri-Beri due to deficiency of B vitamins

Answer 1

The correct option is C May suffer vitamin K deficiency and prolonged bleeding

Sweet clover poisoning is caused when feeding moldy sweet-clover hay or silage that contains dicoumarol. Dicoumarol is a toxic compound that is produced through weathering of a normal component of sweet clover called coumarol. It is the dicoumarol that causes the sweet clover poisoning, preventing normal blood clotting and causing extensive hemorrhaging. When sweet clover becomes spoiled or is improperly cured the coumarol is converted to the toxic substance dicoumarol. This toxin interferes with the metabolism and synthesis of vitamin K.

Vitamin K is essential for liver function, necessary to prevent the seepage of blood from the circulatory system and to establish blood clotting. Without vitamin K, the blood will not clot properly after an injury, and this is why sweet clover poisoning is also called sweet clover bleeding disease.