Interplay of oxidative stress and antioxidant bio markers in oil adjuvant Brucella melitensis vaccinated and challenged mice.

The intracellular nature of Brucella leads to rise in oxidative stress due to bacterial invasion, particularly at the site of predilection spleen and lymph nodes. The present study aimed to evaluate the erythrocytic and tissue specific oxidative stress responses induced during oil adjuvant killed Brucella melitensis vaccination. The results of the study clearly implicated a significant increase in level of catalase, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and lipid peroxidation (LPO), and total protein content in erythrocytes after vaccination. The activity of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) was unaltered during the period of experiment. The catalase activity and GSH content was significantly increased in lung and spleen tissues. The tissues GST levels increased significantly in all tissues, while tissue SOD level increased significantly only in lung tissues. Thus, it can be inferred that oil adjuvant based Brucella vaccine induces negligible signs of inflammatory pathophysiology and supports the development of significant level of protection against virulent Brucella challenge.

Bacteriophage therapy for safeguarding animal and human health: a review.

Since the discovery of bacteriophages at the beginning of the 19th century their contribution to bacterial evolution and ecology and use in a variety of applications in biotechnology and medicine has been recognized and understood. Bacteriophages are natural bacterial killers, proven as best biocontrol agents due to their ability to lyse host bacterial cells specifically thereby helping in disease prevention and control. The requirement of such therapeutic approach is straight away required in view of the global emergence of Multidrug Resistant (MDR) strains of bacteria and rapidly developing resistance to antibiotics in both animals and humans along with increasing food safety concerns including of residual antibiotic toxicities. Phage typing is a popular tool to differentiate bacterial isolates and to identify and characterize outbreak-associated strains of Salmonella, Campylobacter, Escherichia and Listeria. Numerous methods viz. plaque morphology, ultracentrifugation in the density gradient of CsCl2, and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) have been found to be effective in detection of various phages. Bacteriophages have been isolated and recovered from samples of animal waste products of different livestock farms. High titer cocktails of broad spectrum lytic bacteriophages are usually used for clinical trial for assessing their therapeutic efficacy against antibiotic unresponsive infections in different animals. Bacteriophage therapy also helps to fight various bacterial infections of poultry viz. colibacillosis, salmonellosis and listeriosis. Moreover, the utility of phages concerning biosafety has raised the importance to explore and popularize the therapeutic dimension of this promising novel therapy which forms the topic of discussion of the present review.

Studies on Antimicrobial and Immunomodulatory Effects of Hot Aqueous Extract of Acacia nilotica L. Leaves against Common Veterinary Pathogens.

Acacia nilotica is a plant species that is almost ubiquitously found in different parts of the world. Various preparations of it have been advocated in folk medicine for the treatment of tuberculosis, leprosy, smallpox, dysentery, cough, ophthalmia, toothache, skin cancer as astringent, antispasmodic, and aphrodisiac since immemorial times. The present study investigates the antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and immunomodulatory potential of hot aqueous extract (HAE) of Acacia nilotica leaves. On dry matter basis, the filtered HAE had a good extraction ratio (33.46%) and was found to have carbohydrates, glycosides, phytosterols, phenolic compounds, saponins, and flavonoids as major constituents. HAE produced dose dependent zone of inhibition against Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, E. coli, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus uberis and fungal pathogens Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus fumigates; however, no antiviral activity was recorded against IBR virus. HAE of A. nilotica revealed both proliferative and inhibitory effects on the rat splenocytes and IL-10 release depending on the dose. Detailed studies involving wide spectrum of bacterial, fungal, and viral species are required to prove or know the exact status of each constituents of the plant extract.

Clinical drug interactions: a holistic view.

Every time a drug is administered to the animal to treat an ailment, no matter whether it is acute or chronic manifestation, it usually goes together with some other prescription medicine, OTC (Over the counter) formulation, herbs or even food. All the xenobiotics such as drugs, toxins and food components as well as the endogenous compound that are formed in the animal body as a routine phenomenon exert a stimulatory or inhibitory effect on the different physiological and biochemical processes going in the body. These effects may alter the normal metabolism and/or drug transport or its efficacy drastically and thus expose the man and animals to the risk of a potentially dangerous interaction. The present review discusses these potential reactions and their mechanisms that help in navigating the hazardous combinations of drugs with other medicines, food, herbs, vitamins and minerals with confidence.

Inorganic versus organic selenium supplementation: a review.

Selenium is an essential trace element in the diets which is required for maintenance of health, growth and biochemical-physiological functions. The area covered in this review has been rapidly unfolding in recent years and has already acquired a vast spread. This study presents a concise introductory overview of the effect of organic and inorganic selenium on growth performance, carcass traits, daily egg production, egg quality, Se uptake in various tissues and plasma and plasma glutathione peroxidase activity in animals.

Immunomodulatory and therapeutic potentials of herbal, traditional/indigenous and ethnoveterinary medicines.

Herbs/Botanical plants are considered as God's gift to human beings in the form of natural medicines, like the one well known "Sanjeevani booti" described in Hindu Mythology. The traditional and ethno-veterinary practices have been in use for centuries, transferring the knowledge from generation to generation and they are accessible, easy to prepare and administer, with little or no cost at all. Even though the modern developments in therapeutic field brought about a rapid decline in traditional medicine, the plant-based remedies are still having a crucial role as potential source of therapeutic aids in health systems all over the world for both humans and animals. Among the 21,000 medicinal plants listed by the World Health Organization (WHO), 2500 species are native to India, which stands first in the production of medicinal herbs. This innumerable treasure of medicinal herbs brings India the distinction of 'the botanical garden of the world'. Nowadays immune-based therapies are gaining more importance than monovalent approaches which are having limited benefits. Apart from the actions like treating diseases, control of ecto- and endo-parasites, fertility enhancement, bone setting and poor mothering management, an array of herbal medicines have been reported which are having immunomodulatory effects like modulation of cytokine secretion, histamine release, immunoglobulin secretion, class switching, cellular co-receptor expression, lymphocyte expression, phagocytosis and so on. The present article describes in brief few of these important ones viz., ashwagandha, amla, tulsi, arjuna, aloe vera, garlic, turmeric, ginger, shatavari, neem, guduchi, kiwifruit, tut, kamala, palashlata, kokilaksha etc. being used for human and animal health benefits.