RESUMO

Sida carpinifolia is a plant native to Brazil and when it is ingested by animals for a prolonged period it causes -mannosidosis. The technique of lectin-histochemistry was applied to samples of the central nervous system (CNS) of eleven cattle naturally and experimentally intoxicated by S. carpinifolia in Brazil. The results revealed that the animals showed labeling, mainly in cerebellum sections, with the lectins Concanavalia ensiformis and Triticum vulgaris and in a lesser degree with Succinyl Triticum vulgaris. Labeling was verified within the vacuolized cytoplasm of the cerebellar Purkinje neurons, cells of the molecular layer, cells of the granular layer and astrocytes of the white matter. There was no labeling observed for the lectins Glycine max, Dolichos biflorus, Ulex europaeus-I, Arachis hypogaea and Ricinus communis-I. Intoxication by S. carpinifolia in bovine species is characterized by lectin-histochemistry as - mannosidosis, this being an important tool aiding to the diagnosis of lysosomal storage disease.