Pyrrolizidine Alkaloidosis

Pyrrolizidine alkaloidosis is a disease of chronic poisoning in humans and other animals caused by ingesting plants containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids. It can damage the liver, kidneys, heart, brain, smooth muscle and lungs, cause lesions throughout the body, and is a potential cause of cancer. The condition is known under other names in different countries, including Pictou disease in Canada and Winton disease in New Zealand, and can also reach people indirectly when pyrrolizidine-containing seeds contaminate cereal or forage crops, tainting flour or the milk of cows that graze on the affected plants.