Veterinary Archives, Vol. 82 No. 5, 2012.
Original scientific paper
The effect of supplemental antioxidants vitamin C and dimethyl sulfoxide on weight gain and survival in T. brucei infected and diminazene treated rats.
Kingsley I. Eghianruwa
orcid.org/0000-0002-5440-0486
; Department of Veterinary Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Abstract
The effect of supplementing antioxidants, ascorbic acid (AA) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) following diminazene administration in T. brucei infected rats was studied by assessing weight gain, survivability, parasitemia and plasma protein levels. The first group (I) of five rats was uninfected. Four additional groups of five rats per group were infected with T. brucei. One of the infected groups (II) was left untreated while the remaining three groups (III, IV and V) received 3.5 mg.kg-1 of diminazene aceturate intramuscularly. One of the three diminazene treated groups (III) received no supplements, while the remaining two received daily oral supplements of 0.5 g.kg-1 DMSO (group IV) and 100 mg.kg-1 AA (group V). Antioxidant supplements were initiated on the day of diminazene treatment. The daily requirements of antioxidants were dispensed in small volumes of drinking water. Fresh water was given to the animals after the drug solutions were exhausted. Overall weight gain in the groups were 208.35% (uninfected), 25.86% (infected; untreated), 208.71% (diminazene/DMSO), 155.94% (diminazene alone) and 166.75% (diminazene/AA). Weight changes were inversely related to parasitemia level in the infected, untreated group. Survival rates were 100% (uninfected); 0% (infected, untreated); 0% (diminazene alone), 25% (diminazene/DMSO) and 80% (diminazene/AA). By day 21 post treatment, parasites re appeared in all treated groups with the diminazene group recording the highest parasitemia (2.51×108 compared to 1.25×108 and 3.98×107 trypanosomes/mL of blood in the diminazene/DMSO and diminazene/AA groups respectively). Plasma protein levels were significantly (P < 0.05) reduced in infected rats, but regained normal values following treatment. AA and DMSO supplements were superior to diminazene alone in improving weight gain and survival - two desirable outcomes in trypanosomosis.
Keywords
diminazene; ascorbic acid; dimethyl sulfoxide; parasitemia; survival rate; trypanosome; rat
Hrčak ID:
86348
URI
Publication date:
11.9.2012.
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