Mangiferin poisoning
Mango leaves contain high levels (7% DM) of mangiferin, a phenolic compound. Mangiferin may cause poisoning of cattle if mango leaves are fed in large amounts. In India, cows used to be fed mango leaves because mangiferin is degraded into euxanthic acid, a rich yellow pigment used in paints, which was excreted in urine and collected. However, because continuous intake of the leaves could be fatal to cows, the practice was outlawed in 1908. Sporadic cases of death caused by mango leaves have been reported (Orwa et al., 2009; Lowry et al., 1992; Morton, 1987). However, later haematological investigations on goats fed on mango leaves revealed that they were safe to goats (Ajayi et al., 2005), which is not consistent with the toxic effects observed previously (Lowry et al., 1992).