Use of medicinal plants by veterinary practitioners in Spain: A cross-sectional survey

Medicinal plants have been used in veterinary medicine since ancient times, and they are gaining importance in Eastern Europe. The aim of this study was to conduct a survey on the use of medicinal plants in Spain. A cross-sectional study with an online questionnaire was carried out among Spanish small animal veterinarians, to evaluate the use patterns of medicinal plants and attitudes of professionals toward it. 313 veterinarians took part in the study. Most of them were female (80.2%) and age ranged 35-49 (49.5%). 80.3% of respondents use phytotherapy. Musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal disorders were those most frequently treated, with cannabis, aloe and thyme the most often medicinal plants used. The most common pattern of user was women working in clinics.

Bioactivity of plants eaten by wild birds against laboratory models of parasites and pathogens

Plants are not only used as energy and nutrient resources for herbivores. Plants can be ingested because of their activity against host parasites and other pathogens. This so-called medicinal role of plants is well reported in ethnopharmacology and under-reported in wild animals. More studies on wild animals are needed because any plant in the world contains bioactive compounds, and probably all plants, no matter how toxic they are, experience herbivory. For example, we tested the activity of extracts and essential oils from Papaver rhoeas and Echium plantagineum against a selection of laboratory pathogens because Great bustards Otis tarda preferred these plants during the mating season, with male fecal droppings showing a higher frequency of P. rhoeas particles than the fecal droppings of females. We hypothesized that P. rhoeas could be helpful for males in the mating season if any part of this plant harbors bioactivity against parasites and other pathogens. Males’ immune system is weakened during the mating season because of their investment in secondary sexual characters and sexual display. As a first exploration of the bioactivity of these plants, we evaluated extracts of both plants against a sample of laboratory models, including a flagellated protozoon (Trichomonas gallinae), a nematode (Meloidogyne javanica) and a fungus (Aspergillus niger). Non-polar and polar extracts of the aerial parts of P. rhoeas, especially the extracts of flowers and capsules, and the extracts of leaves and flowers of E. plantagineum showed activity against nematodes and trichomonads. The bioactivity of plants against parasites could explain the foraging behavior of stressed animals. The chemical communication underpinning the capacity of fauna to recognize those plants is far less known.

Antifungal in vitro Activity of Essential Oils against Clinical Isolates of Malassezia pachydermatis from Canine Ears: A Report from a Practice Laboratory

BACKGROUND

The yeast Malassezia pachydermatis is a commensal but also the most isolated pathogenic yeast in canine otitis externa. Essential oils (EOs) exhibit antimicrobial activity and thus could be an alternative for treatment of otitis.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to analyse the in vitro efficacy of EOs against M. pachydermatis isolates from canine ears.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twenty-two EOs were tested for their in vitro activity against 15 M. pachydermatis isolates by agar disc diffusion. In addition, diluted EOs were tested and volatile antifungal activity was analysed by vapour assay.

RESULTS

Most EOs showed in vitro efficacy against M. pachydermatis. A different susceptibility pattern of tested isolates was found. Overall, the most potential EO was lemon grass. Also, cinnamon leaf, clove, manuka, Indian melissa, oregano, palmarosa, and winter savory oil exhibited a strong antifungal activity. Volatile activity was proven by the inhibiting effect in vapour assay.

CONCLUSION

EOs show in vitro activity against M. pachydermatis. This study gives scientific background for the use of EOs in veterinary medicine. Diverse susceptibility patterns of different M. pachydermatis strains emphasise the helpfulness of an aromatogram as one lead for the best choice of an EO for therapy.

Large-scale cross-species chemogenomic platform proposes a new drug discovery strategy of veterinary drug from herbal medicines

Veterinary Herbal Medicine (VHM) is a comprehensive, current, and informative discipline on the utilization of herbs in veterinary practice. Driven by chemistry but progressively directed by pharmacology and the clinical sciences, drug research has contributed more to address the needs for innovative veterinary medicine for curing animal diseases. However, research into veterinary medicine of vegetal origin in the pharmaceutical industry has reduced, owing to questions such as the short of compatibility of traditional natural-product extract libraries with high-throughput screening. Here, we present a cross-species chemogenomic screening platform to dissect the genetic basis of multifactorial diseases and to determine the most suitable points of attack for future veterinary medicines, thereby increasing the number of treatment options. First, based on critically examined pharmacology and text mining, we build a cross-species drug-likeness evaluation approach to screen the lead compounds in veterinary medicines. Second, a specific cross-species target prediction model is developed to infer drug-target connections, with the purpose of understanding how drugs work on the specific targets. Third, we focus on exploring the multiple targets interference effects of veterinary medicines by heterogeneous network convergence and modularization analysis. Finally, we manually integrate a disease pathway to test whether the cross-species chemogenomic platform could uncover the active mechanism of veterinary medicine, which is exemplified by a specific network module. We believe the proposed cross-species chemogenomic platform allows for the systematization of current and traditional knowledge of veterinary medicine and, importantly, for the application of this emerging body of knowledge to the development of new drugs for animal diseases.