Iranian Journal of Veterinary Medicine IJVM (2015), 9(2): 79 Hepatotoxicity in sheep and goats caused by experimental feed- ing with foxtail millet (Setaria italica) Omidi, A. 1* , Izadi Yazdanabadi, F. 2 , Esmaeilpour, U. 2 , Behdani, M.A. 3 , Aslani, M.R. 4 1 Department of Animal Health Management, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran 2 Department of Animal Sciences, Agriculture Faculty, Birjand University, Birjand, Iran. 3 Department of Agronomy, Agriculture Faculty, Birjand University, Birjand, Iran 4 Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Sharekord University, Shahrekord, Iran Abstract: BACKGROUND: Some species of grass cause poisoning and hepatogenous photosensitization in animals. OBJECTIVES: Feeding trials were conducted in sheep and goats to eval- uate the hepatotoxic effects of Setaria italica (S. italica). METHODS: Twelve indigenous male sheep and goats were used in this study. The animals were kept outdoors against prevailing climatic conditions. They were fed with S. italica freely for 50 days. Some biochemical factors associated with liver function, such as total bilirubin (TBIL), direct bilirubin (BC), aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), al- kaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT) activities, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), total protein (TP), and albumin (ALB), were measured on day 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, and 49 of the experiment. On the 50 th day, the animals were sacrifced and necropsied, then the gall bladder and livers were removed for pathological study. Blood samples on day 0 (prior to feeding with S. italica) were set as the control group. RESULTS: Three sheep and 3 goats showed signs of intoxica- tion, including facial edema, mucus hyperemia, runny nose, lacrimation, and icterus. Post-mortem examination revealed varying degrees of generalized icterus, degeneration, necrosis and cell swelling of hepatocytes, formation of acidophilic bod- ies, and mild hyperplasia in biliary ducts. CONCLUSIONS: Clin- ical signs, laboratory fndings, and necropsy fndings, support the potential of S. italica in the induction of hepatotoxicity and secondary photosensitivity in sheep and goats. Key words: goat, liver lesions, Setaria italica (S. italica), sheep Correspondence Omidi, A. Department of Animal Health Management, School of Veteri- nary Medicine, Shiraz Universi- ty, Shiraz, Iran Tel: +98(71) 36138745 Fax: +98(71) 32286940 Email: aomidi@shirazu.ac.ir Received: 24 November 2014 Accepted: 17 February 2015 Introduction Setaria italic (S. italica), (foxtail millet) is one of the oldest cultivated cereal grains. It is the most economically important species of the Setaria genus. Other names of S. itali- ca are Italian millet, German millet, Chinese millet, and Hungarian millet. The cultivation of S. italica dates back 5000 BC from China. It is found all over the world (Liu et al., 2012). S. italica is an annual grass with slim, vertical, leafy stems, which can reach a height between 100–150 Cm (Kazemi Arbat, 2005). S. italica is a quick growing species that is able to grow in many types of soil and climate conditions. The root system of S. italica is shallow, scat- tered and fragmented, making it suitable for growing in semiarid regions. S. italica is cul- 79-86