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Thread: AVOCADO: Toxic or not?

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  1. #1
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    Default AVOCADO: Toxic or not?

    In an effort to determine the safety of feeding avocado to squirrels -- and what parts of the plant ARE safe for squirrels -- I've begun this thread. From a paper by Julia F. Morton, Perdue University Horticulture Dept; 1987 (highlights added by me):

    Toxicity
    Unripe avocados are said to be toxic. Two resins derived from the skin of the fruit are toxic to guinea pigs by subcutaneous and peritoneal injection. Dopamine has been found in the leaves. The leaf oil contains methyl chavicol. Not all varieties are equally toxic. Rabbits fed on leaves of 'Fuerte' and 'Nabal' died within 24 hours. Those fed on leaves of 'Mexicola' showed no adverse reactions. Ingestion of avocado leaves and/or bark has caused mastitis in cattle, horses, rabbits and goats. Large doses have been fatal to goats. Craigmill et al. at Davis, California, have confirmed deleterious effects on lactating goats which were allowed to graze on leaves of 'Anaheim' avocado an hour each day for 2 days. Milk was curdled and not milkable, the animals ground their teeth, necks were swollen and they coughed, but the animals would still accept the leaves on the 4th day of the experiment. By the 10th day, all but one goat were on the road to recovery. All abnormal signs had disappeared 20 days later. In another test, leaves of a Guatemalan variety were stored for 2 weeks in plastic bags and then given to 2 Nubian goats in addition to regular feed over a period of 2 days. Both suffered mastitis for 48 hours. Avocado leaves in a pool have killed the fish. Canaries have died from eating the ripe fruit. The seeds, ground and mixed with cheese or cornmeal, have been used to poison rodents. However, tests in Hawaii did not show any ill effect on a mouse even at the rate of 1/4 oz (7 g) per each 2.2 lbs (1 kg) of body weight, though the mouse refused to eat the dried, grated seed material until it was blended with cornmeal. Avocado seed extracts injected into guinea pigs have caused only a few days of hyperexcitability and anorexia. At Davis, mice given 10 to 14 g of half-and-half normal ration and either fresh or dried avocado seed died in 2 or 3 days, though one mouse given 4 times the dose of the others survived for 2 weeks.
    The seed contains 13.6% tannin, 13.25% starch. Amino acids in the seed oil are reported as: capric acid, 0.6; myristic, 1.7; X, 13.5; palmitic, 23.4; X, 10.4; stearic, 8.7; oleic, 15.1; linoleic, 24.1; linolenic, 2.5%. The dried seed contains 1.33% of a yellow wax containing sterol and organic acid. The seed and the roots contain an antibiotic which prevents bacterial spoilage of food. It is the subject of two United States patents.
    The bark contains 3.5% of an essential oil which has an anise odor and is made up largely of methyl chavicol with a little anethole.


    According to this, it appears the leaves and seeds are the toxic parts to rodents, under these experimental conditions. For the entire article, go here: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/avocado_ars.html
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  2. #2
    Jackie in Tampa is offline Left TSB to start her own Board
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    Default Re: AVOCADO: Toxic or not?

    tinfoil hey...didn't say we need to feed our sqs what we have always been told was toxic...that would be silly...just sharing that I have seen sqs eat part of a pit and skin and with NO serious ill effects!

    Avacodo trees are all over my area, and under every tree is the residual evidence of sqs!...no sq corpses, just half eaten evidence!

    I know...I am not a rehabber and will squash my opinion...sorry!
    but will stand on what I have seen.

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    Default Re: AVOCADO: Toxic or not?

    Jackie... as I stated to you privately I would have questioned the statement no matter WHO made it. No vendetta here.

    We ALL, everyone one of us, myself included must be very careful not to present our anecdotal experiences and opinions as facts. That's all I was saying. It can be toxic especially to those who are sensitive. You never know who will be sensitive so it's best treated as toxic.

    Trust me when I say I've been called on stating my opinion as fact many times over the years. This is why I take pains to make sure that I don't do that. I always say... "in my experience" or "in my opinion" or "I believe based on what I've seen".

    Again, I would have questioned that statement coming from anyone. I've been told and told and told not only here but on other lists that you should be very careful about the pits and skins.

    Remember too that wild squirrels are more discriminating about what they eat and in what amounts. Our captives are locked in the cage with the food and may eat things in amounts they shouldn't.

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    Default Re: AVOCADO: Toxic or not?

    Avocado seed extracts injected into guinea pigs have caused only a few days of hyperexcitability and anorexia.

    OOOOH, I could use about 6 months of this.

    Sorry, I know this was supposed to be serious, but I am.

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    Default Re: AVOCADO: Toxic or not?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lady Squirrelly
    Avocado seed extracts injected into guinea pigs have caused only a few days of hyperexcitability and anorexia.

    OOOOH, I could use about 6 months of this.
    Love it, LS -- me too!! Where do we get the shots?

    Be calm, everyone....it appears to me that unless you go to great lengths to force this stuff into rodents, it is not harmful.

    And I WAS trying to present academic information on the subject, which is what was requested, right?
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    Default Re: AVOCADO: Toxic or not?

    Yep and it's appreciated.

    You have to try to understand.. it's like placing a baby on it's back to sleep. When I brought my kid home from the hospital over 20 yrs ago you could be arrested for putting a new born to sleep on her back. I mean after all they could vomit and choke. NOW you will get arrested if you put your infant to sleep on her tummy. Old folks like me question this crap. I must say if you adamantly tell me something for decades and then change it (I still think it's terribly dangerous to put infants to sleep on their backs) you must provide me with some serious information to the contrary.

    So.. after being told for as long as I can remember that there is an issue with avocado it came as a surprise to me that it was being said there wasn't. I just wanted to know why that thinking changed. I really wasn't trying to be contradictory or difficult.

    Of course I will do further research myself and I will continue to peel avocado for the girls, scooby and my ratties. I'm of the better safe than sorry mindset. Jake however can still eat chocolate. Seems rats can have the stuff with no problem! LOL

  7. #7
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    Default Re: AVOCADO: Toxic or not?

    Even if the skins arent toxic they may have been sprayed with a pesticide. Stacey

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    Default Re: AVOCADO: Toxic or not?

    I have pretty much decided to avoid avocado for a couple of reasons. I'd only read about it being a god food for squirrels and had no trouble with my first two squirrels eating it, but Edith died within about 12 hours of eating some avacado off the peel. I'd left it out on the counter after scooping out some for my suggies, and I didn't think anything of it when she grabbed it up and ate from it. It was starting to turn so I threw it away after she got done with it. I did not notice her eating any of the peel. When everything went wrong the next morning, the avocado never crossed my mind until later when I read something else about possible toxins in avocado. I will never know if that is what killed her, but if I could go back in time and not let her have the avocado, you bet your boots I would.

    Weezie doesn't care for it and I end up throwing away more than I use, so I have decided that I will leave it out of my squirrels diet. We don't have any avocado trees in my area, so its not something they will encounter after release.

    This is just my experience and Edith's death is strickly speculation, but my gut tells me it is a huge possibility of being a cause of her death.

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