Suspected fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) toxicosis in a herd of Saskatchewan beef cattle

An apparent outbreak of fenugreek forage toxicosis occurred in a beef cattle herd near Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in February-May 2022. The herd had consumed fenugreek hay from late fall to early winter. Clinical signs included various degrees of weakness, ataxia, knuckling, walking on hocks, and recumbency. All adult cattle in the herd eventually died or were euthanized. Feed analysis did not reveal nutritional deficiencies or mycotoxin contamination. Liver mineral and vitamin status of affected animals did not indicate any consistent abnormality. The last live cow in the herd was presented to a veterinary teaching hospital for evaluation and subsequent postmortem examination. Major postmortem findings included emaciation, and sciatic nerve and spinal cord axonal degeneration. Histologic examination of the sciatic nerve showed Wallerian-like axonal degeneration, increased Schwann cell nuclei, and endoneurial fibrosis. Histologic examination of the spinal cord showed infrequent myelin sheath dilation and digestion chambers within white matter. These results are consistent with other reports of natural and experimental outbreaks of fenugreek poisoning in livestock. To our knowledge, fenugreek toxicosis has not been reported previously in Canada. We conclude that caution should be taken when feeding fenugreek hay to cattle.