Application of carbon dioxide as a novel approach to eradicate poultry red mites

Poultry red mites (PRMs), Dermanyssus gallinae, are one of the most harmful ectoparasites of laying hens. Because of their public health impact, safe, effective methods to eradicate PRMs are greatly needed. Carbon dioxide (CO2 ) was shown to eradicate phytophagous mites;however, there is no evidence that PRMs can be eradicated by CO2. Thus, the efficacy of CO2, applied by direct-spraying and dry ice-generated exposure, for eradicating PRMs was investigated. Both treatments eradicated > 85% of PRMs within 24 h and 100% of PRMs by 120 h of post-treatment. Therefore, these novel approaches may be useful for eradicating PRMs in clinical settings.

Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic integration of enrofloxacin against Salmonella Enteritidis after administering to broiler chicken by per-oral and intravenous routes

It is crucial to optimize the dose of fluoroquinolones to avoid antibiotic resistance and to attain clinical success. We undertook this study to optimize the dose of enrofloxacin against Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) in chicken by assessing its pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) indices. The antibacterial activities of enrofloxacin against S. Enteritidis were evaluated. After administering 10 mg/kg body weight (b.w.) of enrofloxacin to broiler chickens of both sexes by intravenous (IV) and peroral (PO) routes, blood samples were drawn at different intervals and enrofloxacin concentrations in plasma were determined. PK/PD indices were calculated by integrating the PK and PD data. The elimination half-lives (T(1/2)), time required to reach peak concentration (T(max)), peak concentration (C(max)), and area under curve (AUC) after administering enrofloxacin by PO and IV routes were 25.84 ± 1.40 h, 0.65 ± 0.12 h, 3.82 ± 0.59 µg/mL, and 20.84 ± 5.0 µg·h/mL, and 12.84 ± 1.4 h, 0.22 ± 0.1 h, 6.74 ± 0.03 µg/mL, and 21.13 ± 0.9 µg.h/mL, respectively. The bioavailability of enrofloxacin was 98.6% ± 8.9% after PO administration. The MICs of enrofloxacin were 0.0625–1 µg/mL against S. Enteritidis strains, and the MIC₅₀ was 0.50 µg/mL. The C(max)/MIC₅₀ were 7.64 ± 0.2 and 13.48 ± 0.7 and the 24 h AUC/MIC₅₀ were 41.68 ± 0.1 and 42.26 ± 0.3 after administering the drug through PO and IV routes, respectively. The data in this study indicate that the application of 50 mg/kg b.w. of enrofloxacin to chicken through PO and IV routes with a dosing interval of 24 h can effectively cure S. Enteritidis infection, indicating the need for a 5-fold increase in the recommended dosage of enrofloxacin in chicken.

Development of high-performance liquid chromatography methods for the anticoccidials: toltrazuril and diclazuril

This study was undertaken to develop new analytical methods for assessment of anticoccidials. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was found to be a fast, reliable, and practical method. The anticoccidials used in this experiment were toltrazuril and diclazuril, and the analysis factors were specificity, linearity, accuracy, repeatability, and intermediate precision. The linearity of each anticoccidial was better than 0.99, and the accuracies were 99.5% and 99.1% with relative SD of 0.5 and 0.4, respectively. To assess whether the developed HPLC method could be effectively applied, toltrazuril and diclazuril post-market veterinary products (five products) that are currently sold were tested. The results revealed no non-compliant items and the method was applied successfully. Therefore, the newly developed HPLC method for anticoccidial assessment described in this study may be useful as a reference method in the Korean Standards of Veterinary Pharmaceuticals for the analysis of toltrazuril and diclazuril.

Toxicological Profiles of Poisonous, Edible, and Medicinal Mushrooms

Mushrooms are a recognized component of the human diet, with versatile medicinal properties. Some mushrooms are popular worldwide for their nutritional and therapeutic properties. However, some species are dangerous because they cause toxicity. There are many reports explaining the medicinal and/or toxic effects of these fungal species. Cases of serious human poisoning generally caused by the improper identification of toxic mushroom species are reported every year. Different substances responsible for the fatal signs and symptoms of mushroom toxicity have been identified from various poisonous mushrooms. Toxicity studies of mushroom species have demonstrated that mushroom poisoning can cause adverse effects such as liver failure, bradycardia, chest pain, seizures, gastroenteritis, intestinal fibrosis, renal failure, erythromelalgia, and rhabdomyolysis. Correct categorization and better understanding are essential for the safe and healthy consumption of mushrooms as functional foods as well as for their medicinal use.