Gliricidia means "mouse killer" in Latin. In Central America, leaves mixed with cooked maize are used as a rodenticide (FAO, 2009). Leaves are also reported to be toxic to horses (Ecocrop, 2009) and many animals cannot tolerate the consumption of large quantities of gliricidia. Ruminants do not seem to be affected under normal feeding.
Gliricidia toxicity could be due to the conversion by bacteria of coumarin to dicoumerol during fermentation (Cook et al., 2005). Cyanogens, HCN (up to 4 mg/kg), unidentified alkaloids and tannins may be present. Gliricidia can be a nitrate accumulator (Bennison et al., 1993).