veterinary

Some commonly fed herbs and other functional foods in equine nutrition: A review.:
Vet J. 2007 Aug 7; Williams CA, Lamprecht ED

Most herbs and functional foods have not been scientifically tested; this is especially true for the horse. This paper reviews some of the literature pertinent to herbal supplementation in horses and other species. Common supplements like Echinacea, garlic, ginger, ginseng, and yucca are not regulated, and few studies have investigated safe, efficacious doses. Ginseng has been found to exert an inhibitory effect on pro-inflammatory cytokines and cyclooxygenase-2 expression. Equine studies have tested the anti-inflammatory effects of a single dose of ginger, post-exercise. Echinacea has been reported to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Yucca contains steroid-like saponins, which produce anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-spasmodic effects. However, some herbs have drug-like actions that interact with dietary components and may contain prohibited substances like salicylates, digitalis, heroin, cocaine and marijuana. Horses fed garlic at >0.2g/kg per day developed Heinz body anaemia. Drug-herb interactions are common and caution needs to be taken when implementing 'natural product' usage.

Newer directions for plant drug research: The need to examine and investigate traditional remedies for pharmacotherapy of animal and zoonotic diseases.: Afr J Health Sci. 1998 Feb;5(1):12-4 Authors: Kofi-Tsekpo MW, Kioy DW

Traditional remedies for animal diseases have not been investigated as much as those for human diseases. Yet, there is a wealth of knowledge available to be tapped from the remedies used in the treatment of animal and zoonotic diseases. The indigenous knowledge available could be rationalized in the modern pharmaceutical context and applied directly to field use where appropriate. Furthermore, it is well known that many drugs have been developed initially through their use in animals because the ethical issues are easier to handle. It is worth examining some the indigenous medicinal plants that are used for both human and animal disease treatment, and determine the practical and cost-effective ways of exploiting the values of these plants.

PMID: 17580988 [PubMed - in process]

Newer directions for plant drug research: The need to examine and investigate traditional remedies for pharmacotherapy of animal and zoonotic diseases.:

Newer directions for plant drug research: The need to examine and investigate traditional remedies for pharmacotherapy of animal and zoonotic diseases.

Afr J Health Sci. 1998 Feb;5(1):12-4

Authors: Kofi-Tsekpo MW, Kioy DW

Traditional remedies for animal diseases have not been investigated as much as those for human diseases. Yet, there is a wealth of knowledge available to be tapped from the remedies used in the treatment of animal and zoonotic diseases. The indigenous knowledge available could be rationalized in the modern pharmaceutical context and applied directly to field use where appropriate. Furthermore, it is well known that many drugs have been developed initially through their use in animals because the ethical issues are easier to handle. It is worth examining some the indigenous medicinal plants that are used for both human and animal disease treatment, and determine the practical and cost-effective ways of exploiting the values of these plants.

PMID: 17580988 [PubMed - in process]

The use of nutraceuticals for osteoarthritis in horses.: Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract. 2005 Dec;21(3):575-97, v-vi Authors: Trumble TN

In horses, lameness is often attributable to some degree of osteoarthritis (OA), a complex disease process that is highlighted by eventual degradation of articular cartilage. Conventional therapies for OA in horses are designed to relieve pain and discomfort and often include pharmacologic intervention with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or intra-articular steroids. Oral administration of nutraceutical products to the horse is common and easy and is perceived to be a benign treatment for OA in horses. The main goal for use of nutraceuticals is to use them in OA cases to attempt to lower the dose of other drugs that are more problematic while potentially preventing further degradation (disease or structure modifying). This article attempts to define a nutraceutical, identifies areas that need to be considered when these products are used, and describes the known scientific effects of the most common compounds contained in currently available equine nutraceuticals.

Improvement of the lung function of horses with heaves by treatment with a botanical preparation for 14 days.: Vet Rec. 2005 Dec 3;157(23):733 Authors: Anour R, Leinker S, van den Hoven R

The effects of an oral preparation containing a mixture of extracts from yellow gentian, garden sorrel, cowslip, verbena and common elder on the lung function of nine horses suffering from heaves were determined in a longitudinal crossover study. The horses were divided at random into a group of five (group 1) and a group of four (group 2). The horses in group 1 were each given 15 tablets of the preparation twice daily, while the horses in group 2 were left untreated. Fourteen days later, the horses in group 2 were given the same course of treatment while the horses in group 1 were left untreated. On being subjected to a histamine inhalation provocation test, five of eight horses tested appeared to be hyperresponsive to histamine. The treatment decreased the histamine sensitivity of three of them; it also caused a significant decrease in maximal intrapleural pressure difference of all the horses. The treatment had no significant effects on the clinical signs, the mucociliary activity or the cytology of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of the horses.