Citrus pulp was fed to sheep and rabbits in high doses and during long periods, in order to find an experimental model. The citrus pulp used in the experiments in sheep was the same used by a cattle breeder in Lorena, State of São Paulo, who lost out of a total of 56 lactating cows during a period of a few weeks 5 animals by a disease characterized histologically by granulomatous lesions. The 4 sheep used in the experiments received 800g/day/animal of this citrus pulp during 10 to 11 months. They were euthanized at the end of the experiment. None of the sheep showed the clinical-pathological picture of citrus pulp poisoning seen in cattle or other alterations. In the experiments in rabbits citrus pulp of two procedures were used. In one series (6 rabbits) the same citrus pulp was given as used in the experiments in sheep; in the other series (6 rabbits) the citrus pulp used in experiments in dogs, in which it caused granulomatous lesions, was given. The rabbits of the first series ingested an average of 51.5 g/day/animal; the rabbits of the second series ingested an average of 35.2 g/kg/animal of the citrus pulp. The rabbits were euthanized 2, 3, 6 and 12 months after the beginning of the experiments. None of the rabbits showed the clinical and pathological picture of citrus pulp poisoning or any other alterations.
Experimental citrus pulp poisoning; sheep; rabbits
