Nutritional adjuvants with antioxidant properties in the treatment of canine leishmaniasis.

Clinical improvement of dogs treated for canine leishmaniasis (CanL) requires reducing Leishmania infantum loads, which depend on intracellular oxidant compounds to destroy the parasite. However, oxidative species' excess and antioxidants consumption can culminate in oxidative stress, resulting in increased, widespread inflammation. We aimed to evaluate if early or late addition of nutritional adjuvants (NAs) - omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and B vitamins - to anti-Leishmania drugs (ALDs) in the treatment of CanL would be clinically beneficial. For that, serum biomarkers including oxidative stress parameters were analyzed during 12 months in dogs allocated to two treatment groups: (G1) NAs administered from 30 days prior to the beginning of ALDs; and (G2) NAs administered from 61 days after the beginning of ALDs. Both G1 and G2 continued to receive NAs until the 12th month. The ALDs administered were metronidazole associated with ketoconazole (40 days), followed by allopurinol from day 41 until the 12th month. G1 exhibited superior inflammation control, with reduced globulins (p = 0.025), specific anti-Leishmania immunoglobulins (p = 0.016), total protein (p = 0.031), and an increased serum albumin/globulin ratio (p = 0.033), compared to G2. The early use of NAs associated with ALDs is clinically beneficial in treating dogs with CanL.

Evaluating oxidative stress, serological- and haematological status of dogs suffering from osteoarthritis, after supplementing their diet with fish or corn oil.

BACKGROUND: Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of disease, and the antioxidant physiological effect of omega-3 from fish oil may lead to improvement of canine spontaneous osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: In this prospective randomized, controlled, double-blinded study, we assessed haematological and biochemical parameters in dogs with OA following supplementation with either a concentrated omega-3 deep sea fish oil product or corn oil. Blood samples from 77 client-owned dogs diagnosed as having OA were taken before (baseline) and 16 weeks after having orally ingested 0.2 ml/Kg bodyweight/day of deep sea fish oil or corn oil. Circulating malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), non-transferrin bound iron (NTBI), free carnitine (Free-Car), 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG), and serum fatty acids, haemograms and serum biochemistry were evaluated. Differences within and between groups from baseline to end, were analysed using repeated samples T-test or Wilcoxon rank test and independent samples T-test or a Mann-Whitney test. RESULTS: Supplementation with fish oil resulted in a significant reduction from day 0 to day 112 in MDA (from 3.41 ± 1.34 to 2.43 ± 0.92 µmol/L; P < 0.001) and an elevation in Free-Car (from 18.18 ± 9.78 to 21.19 ± 9.58 µmol/L; P = 0.004) concentrations, whereas dogs receiving corn oil presented a reduction in MDA (from 3.41 ± 1.34 to 2.41 ± 1.01 µmol/L; P = 0.001) and NTBI (from -1.25 ± 2.17 to -2.31 ± 1.64 µmol/L; P = 0.002). Both groups showed increased (albeit not significantly) GSH and 8-OH-dG blood values. Dogs supplemented with fish oil had a significant reduction in the proportions of monocytes (from 3.84 ± 2.50 to 1.77 ± 1.92 %; P = 0.030) and basophils (from 1.47 ± 1.22 to 0.62 ± 0.62 %; P = 0.012), whereas a significant reduction in platelets counts (from 316.13 ± 93.83 to 288.41 ± 101.68 × 10(9)/L; P = 0.029), and an elevation in glucose (from 5.18 ± 0.37 to 5.32 ± 0.47 mmol/L; P = 0.041) and cholesterol (from 7.13 ± 1.62 to 7.73 ± 2.03 mmol/L; P = 0.011) measurements were observed in dogs receiving corn oil. CONCLUSIONS: In canine OA, supplementation with deep sea fish oil improved diverse markers of oxidative status in the dogs studied. As corn oil also contributed to the reduction in certain oxidative markers, albeit to a lesser degree, there was no clear difference between the two oil groups. No clinical, haematological or biochemical evidence of side effects emerged related to supplementation of either oil. Although a shift in blood fatty acid values was apparent due to the type of nutraceutical product given to the dogs, corn oil seems not to be a good placebo.