Suspected buttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus) toxicosis with secondary photosensitization in a Charolais heifer

A presumptive diagnosis of buttercup toxicosis with photosensitization secondary to hepatotoxicity was made in an 18-mo-old Charolais heifer. The differential diagnosis included salmonellosis, aflatoxicosis, bovine virus diarrhea, internal parasite infestation, and plant toxicosis with either primary or secondary photosensitization. All these possibilities were excluded except buttercup toxicosis with photosensitization secondary to hepatotoxicity. While this diagnosis was not absolutely confirmed, it was the most likely cause of the disease and raised the intriguing possibility that protoanemonin, buttercup's toxic principle, is hepatotoxic.