Nerium oleander is a plant of the Apocynaceae family toxic to humans, animals, and insects. This study was performed to determine the cardiac and neurotoxicity of the plant extract by oral administration in Wistar rats and Balb/c mice and to compare the susceptibility of these animal models to oleander toxicity. Four groups of eight mice and eight rats received N. oleander extract orally while a fifth group was the control. Serum concentrations of the biochemical toxicity indicators, namely troponin and creatine kinase (CK), were determined and histopathological evaluation of the heart and brain was performed. In mice, CK and troponin concentrations were respectively 1.5 and 7 times higher than in the control group (P < 0.05), while in rats, they were 6–7 and 11 times higher. Hyperaemia, haemorrhage, and myofibrolysis, without infiltration of inflammatory cells, were observed in the heart. In the brain the authors observed hyperaemia associated with perivascular and perineuronal oedema, and in higher-dosed rats multifocal haemorrhagic and liquefactive necrotic lesions. Oleander can affect serum levels of CK and troponin due to nervous and cardiac injuries. Rats showed more severe changes in the biochemical indicators and histopathological lesions than mice. Therefore, biochemical and pathological findings indicate that Wistar rats are more susceptible to the cardiac toxicity and neurotoxicity effects of N. oleander poisoning than Balb/c mice.

A 2-year-old male stray dog was found to be bleeding from the penile sheath for two months. Physical examination by penile extrusion revealed a severe proliferative and hemorrhagic mass at the bulbar glandis. A natural product ointment was applied in an aerosol spray weekly to evaluate the progress of tumour regression. The reduction in size of the mass at the bulbar glandis was observed within seven days of treatment with the spray of a natural product, namely a liquid mixture of Catharanthus roseus and Cynodon dactylon. Complete resolution of tumor mass was achieved in 4 weeks. The bleeding from the mass was halted within 24 hours of first sprayingwhich exhibited a potent anti-inflammatory effect of local herbs. This preliminary study was conducted to establish the potential use of herbal plants for routine non-invasive treatment of transmissible venereal tumor in a male dog.

Objective--To determine whether larkspur-derived N-(methylsuccinimido) anthranoyllycoctonine (MSAL)-type alkaloids alter heart rate and electrically evoked electromyographic (eEMG) response of the external anal sphincter (EAS) in cattle and whether these effects can be reversed by acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. Animals--12 beef heifers and 4 cows. Procedures--3 or 4 heifers were used in 1 or 2 of 7 dose-response experiments; heart rate and EAS eEMG response were assessed before and 24 hours after oral treatment with larkspur (doses equivalent to 0.5 to 15 mg of MSAL-type alkaloids/kg). In 3 subsequent experiments, 3 heifers (1 of which was replaced with another heifer in the control experiment) each received 10 mg of MSAL-type alkaloids/kg and were injected IV with physostigmine (0.04 mg/kg), neostigmine (0.04 mg/kg), or saline (0.9% NaCl) solution 24 hours later, prior to assessment. Additionally, EAS eEMG response was measured in 4 cows before and after epidural administration of 2% lidocaine hydrochloride. Results--Larkspur-treated heifers developed dose-related increases in heart rate and decreases in EAS eEMG response. Twenty-four hours after administration of MSAL-type alkaloids, neostigmine decreased heart rate but did not affect eEMG response, whereas physostigmine did not affect heart rate but caused a 2-fold increase in eEMG response. In cows, epidural anesthesia did not alter eEMG response, suggesting that transdermal stimulation of the EAS pudendal innervation did not occur. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance--In cattle, cardiac effects and muscle weakness or loss of EAS eEMG response induced by larkspur-derived MSAL-type alkaloids were reversed by neostigmine or physostigmine, respectively. Treatment with anticholinesterase inhibitors may alter the clinical effects of larkspur poisoning in cattle.

Starling forces and hemodynamics in the digits of 5 horses were studied during early laminitis induced by oral administration of an aqueous extract of black walnut (Juglans nigra). The black walnut extract was prepared from heartwood shavings and was administered by nasogastric tube. Heart and respiratory rates, rectal temperature, central venous and arterial pressures, digital pulses, and signs of lameness were monitored. Blood samples were collected for determination of WBC count, hemoglobin concentration, and PCV and for endotoxin and tumor necrosis factor assays. Total WBC count and central venous pressure were monitored until they decreased by 30 or 20%, respectively. These decreases in WBC count and central venous pressure were observed 2 to 3 hours after dosing with black walnut extract. Respiratory and heart rates, body temperature, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, PCV, and hemoglobin concentration did not change significantly. Anesthesia was induced, heparin (500 IU/kg of body weight) was administered IV, and a pump-perfused extracorporeal digital preparation was established. Digital arterial and venous pressures were maintained at 100 and 30 mm of Hg, respectively. Blood flow, capillary pressure, lymph and plasma protein concentrations, and weight of the isolated digit during rapid increase in venous pressure were measured. Isogravimetric capillary filtration coefficient, vascular compliance, vascular and tissue oncotic pressures, tissue pressure, osmotic reflection coefficient, and precapillary and postcapillary resistances were calculated. Mean digital blood flow was 14 ml/min/100 g, capillary pressure was 52 mm of Hg, and vascular compliance was 0.06 ml/mm of Hg. The vascular and tissue oncotic pressures were 21.49 and 4.93 mm of Hg, respectively. The osmotic reflection coefficient was 0.71, and tissue pressure was 41 mm of Hg. The precapillary and postcapillary resistances were 7 and 2 mm of Hg/ml, respectively. Capillary permeability to proteins was not significantly different from that previously measured in healthy horses, suggesting that the increased capillary filtration coefficient reflected increased capillary hydrostatic pressure and perfusion of previously nonperfused capillaries. Neither endotoxin nor serum tumor necrosis factor activity was detected in any samples. The hemodynamic and Starling forces observed in this study were similar to those observed after laminitis was induced by administration of a carbohydrate gruel. Significant differences between the 2 models were detected for total vascular resistance, postcapillary resistance, and capillary filtration coefficient. It is likely that these differences were identified because the horses administered the black walnut extract were at an earlier stage in the disease process. The findings of this study suggest that the increase in capillary pressure causes transvascular fluid movement, resulting in increased tissue pressure and edema. We hypothesize that further increases in tissue pressure may collapse capillary beds and lead to tissue ischemia.

Twelve horses, with acute laminitis (primarily in the forefeet) at 12 hours after intragastric dosing with an aqueous extract of black walnut (Juglans nigra) heartwood, were studied. The distribution of perfusion of blood to the foot and to outlined regions within the foot was quantified, using gamma scintigraphy of regionally 99mTC. labeled macroaggregated albumin, before and 12 hours after extract administration. Horses 1 to 3 were not studied further. Perfusion was quantified again for horses 4 to 12 at 84 hours after extract administration. At the onset of acute laminitis, horses 7 to 12 were administered a single dose of prazosin (0.025 mg/kg of body weight, IV) immediately after scintigraphy of the right forelimb and before scintigraphy of the left forelimb. When compared with baseline images, perfusion to the forefoot of horses after the development of acute laminitis was quantitatively decreased vs perfusion to the entire distal portion of the forelimb. Also with the onset of laminitis, perfusion also decreased to the dorsal laminar and coronary corium regions vs the distal portion of the forelimb. The acute laminitis-associated deficit in perfusion to the dorsal lamina was greater in magnitude than the deficit in perfusion to either the coronary corium or the entire forefoot. Equivalent deficits in the distribution of perfusion were not detected in forelimbs from horses with acute laminitis and which had been treated with prazosin. When compared with baseline images, perfusion to the dorsal lamina was increased in relation to perfusion to the distal portion of the limb at postdosing hour 84. Prazosin treatment did not influence that increase in perfusion to the dorsal lamina.

Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Shreb) hay from a source known to cause "fescue foot" in grazing cattle was extracted with 80% ethanol. The ethanolic extract was further refined and fractionated into cation,nion, and neutral f fractions by ion-exchange chromatography. The cation fraction was partitioned with alkaline-chloroform to give chloroform-extractable cation and residual cation fractions. All fractions plus the crude ethanolic extract were assayed for toxic activity by intraperitoneal injection into 12 calves (weighting 152.4 to 241.3 kg each) over a 14-day period. Clinical signs of fescue foot were observed on the 5th day in calves given the anion and crude ethanolic extracts. Lameness, swelling, and reddening of the rear coronary bands, discoloration of the tip of the tail, and other signs of fescue foot were seen. Microscopically, coronary bands and tail tips of affected calves had blood vessels with thick walls and small lumens.

The effects of administration of a commercially available extract of Gingko biloba (EGB) on bromethalin-induced brain lipid peroxidation and cerebral edema in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats was determined. Gingko biloba extract was given (100 mg/kg) by gavage immediately after bromethalin (1.0 mg/kg) administration. Rats were euthanatized at 24 hours after dosing. Brain lipid peroxidation was determined by measurement of brain malonaldehyde-thiobarbituric acid chromophore (MDA-TBA) concentration, brain sodium concentration, and brain water content. Treatment of bromethalin-dosed rats (10/group) with EGB was associated with a statistically significant (P < 0.05) decrease in clinical sign severity, compared with bromethalin-dosed saline solution-treated rats. All rats given bromethalin and saline solution developed clinical signs of toxicosis including CNS depression, hind limb weakness, ataxia, paralysis, and coma. Some rats given bromethalin and EGB developed clinical signs, however, none developed hind limb paralysis. The brain MDA-TBA concentration (2.4 +/- 0.5 delta MDA-TBA concentration/mg of protein), percentage of water in brain tissue (80.3 +/- 0.30%), and brain sodium concentration (6.68 +/- 0.21 mg/g of dry weight) were significantly increased in rats given bromethalin and saline solution, compared with control rats given saline solution (1.0 +/- 0.1 delta MDA-TBA concentration/mg of protein; 78.1 +/- 0.33% water in brain tissue; 4.83 +/- 0.30 mg of brain Na+/g of dry weight) and rats given bromethalin and EGB (1.6 +/- 0.2 delta MDA-TBA concentration/mg of protein; 79.3 +/- 0.31% water in brain tissue; 5.37 +/- 0.34 mg of brain Na+/g of dry weight). The MDA-TBA concentration (1.2 +/- 0.2 delta MDA-TBA concentration/mg of protein), percentage of water in brain tissue (78.7 +/- 0.40%), and brain sodium concentration (4.93 +/- 0.26 mg/g of dry weight) increased slightly in control rats given EGB.

An aqueous extract was made from black walnut (Juglans nigra) heartwood obtained in the fall of the year. Ten hours after nasogastric administration of 5 L of the extract, a 550-kg, 13-yr-old Quarter Horse gelding experienced Obel grade-3 laminitis. The effect of aqueous extract of black walnut on vascular contractility was then tested, using isolated equine digital arteries and veins. The vessels were maintained in Krebs bicarbonate buffer with 95% oxygen at 37 C. The extract did not induce a direct contractile effect. It did, however, reversibly enhance the vasoconstriction induced in the isolated vessels by administration of epinephrine potentiated with hydrocortisone. In contrast, aqueous extracts made, using the same techniques, from the shavings of eastern white pine (Pinus strobus), eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), and pin oak (Quercus palustrus) had no effect on epinephrine-induced digital vessel contractions.

The study evaluated in-vitro antibacterial activity of seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.)leaves using disc diffusion method against common skin and wound pathogens. Methanolic hot and cold extracts of green seabuckthorn leaves were tested against 160 microbial isolates obtained from clinical skin and wound infection cases of different animal species. Different concentrations of leaf extracts i.e. 0.5%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5% were tested against 1×108 cfu/ml bacteria inoculated on Mueller-Hinton agar (MHA). The inhibitory effect of SBT leaf extract at 5% concentration was observed to be almost 50% as compared to the standard drugs used as positive control against isolate.