Laudanum in lettuce - fact or fiction

Hi all :wave: i found this interesting, thought i would share as alot of people are unsure or worried about feeding lettuces.

http://www.galensgarden.co.uk/vegetables/lettuce.php

tjbole said:

Hi all :wave: i found this interesting, thought i would share as alot of people are unsure or worried about feeding lettuces.

http://www.galensgarden.co.uk/vegetables/lettuce.php

Click to expand...

FACT! But levels vary in different lettuces and some don't contain it at all. Iceberg is a definite no no!

fiction but as the artical says it does contain the lactucin which which may or may not combine in the body to form a toxic sedative drug. Wild lettuce contains very high amounts of this but cultivated very low.

The main reason to avoid/minimise cultivated lettuce though is due to it's high water/low fibre/low nutrient content especially the lighter lettuce (dark lettuce is not too bad nutrient wise). At best if fed to excess you may find your bunny loosing weight and having loose stools & if feeding non organic lettuce, especially iceberg there may be long term pesticide/herbicide implications as iceberg especially acts as a soak. At worst you could seriously upset especially a young digestive system or if feeding iceberg etc have long run skeletal and other vitamin/mineral deficiency issues.

It's not actually known whether or not Lactucin does become Lactucarium (an Opiate) once ingested by rabbits, or people for that matter, but there have been many reports of rabbits becoming 'soporific' following feeding of large amounts of lettuce. As Lactucin is converted to Lactucarium you can't say it is 'fiction'. It is 'fact' that is exists - what is not known is whether or not the compound Lactucarium will result following ingestion - this doesn't mean it's fiction - simply that it is unknown! I agree that It's always better to avoid the unknown in plants where rabbit health is concerned.

I just woud never give my bunnies lettuce. Full stop. I am too scared that anything would happen to them.

I think as there is so much choice of veg etc to feed then it is just wise to avoid lettuce and give other things instead.

have a look this video on medirabbit it is about rabbit nutrition and digestion, it explains about the importance if veg in the diet, adding it slowly and how much to give per body weight of bun, and how to avoid gas and how to know if your rabbit has gas!

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Food/Food_main.htm