Effect of avoparcin on rumen fermentation and duodenal nutrient flow in sheep.

In a digestive-physiological experiment series, the effect exerted by avoparcin on rumen fermentation and on the ruminal digestion of nutrients was studied in wethers provided with rumen and duodenal cannulas, as a function of the composition of feed as substrate. Three control (I, II, III) groups containing different amounts of rumen degradable protein (RDP) and nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC) were formed (composition of diet: group I, 74% RDP and 38% NSC; group II, 57% RDP and 32% NSC; group III, 48% RDP and 23% NSC). The feeding of control diets was followed by the administration of experimental diets containing avoparcin (groups I+A, II+A, and III+A). The dose of avoparcin was 0.75 mg/kg body weight. Irrespective of the RDP and NSC content of the feed, avoparcin reduced the molar ratio of acetic acid and increased that of propionic acid, decreased the acetic acid/propionic acid ratio, and increased the molar ratio of isobutyric acid. Ammonia concentration of the ruminal fluid was significantly lower in group I+A than in the corresponding control group (I). Avoparcin supplementation of diet III improved the apparent digestibility of organic matter from 52.9% to 56.4%. When added to a ration of high NSC and RDP content (I), avoparcin decreased the true digestibility of organic matter from 77.0 to 72.5%. Compared to diet III as well as to diets II and III, avoparcin significantly increased the ruminal degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose, respectively. Avoparcin supplementation of the diet significantly decreased the microbial N content of the duodenal chymus irrespective of the NSC and RDP content of the diet. In group I+A, the amount of dietary N passed from the rumen into the duodenum in 24 h was significantly higher (7.1 g/day vs. 2.7 g/day). In wethers fed the diet of the lowest NSC and RDP content (III), avoparcin supplementation (III+A) increased the apparent digestibility of N in the rumen. In contrast, in wethers fed diets of higher RDP and NSC content (I and II) the true ruminal digestibility of N decreased. Irrespective of the RDP and NSC content of the diet, avoparcin supplementation significantly reduced the efficiency of microbial protein synthesis. The enhanced propionic fermentation induced by the administration of avoparcin allows more efficient utilization of the dietary energy. The higher ratio of undergraded, bypass protein reaching the duodenum provides the animal with a protein source degraded and utilized directly in the small intestine. The results support the observation that avoparcin increases the body weight gain of animals during fattening.

Potentiation of ionophorous anticoccidials with dihydroquinolines: battery trials against Eimeria tenella in chickens.

Seven battery tests, employing a total of 1344 Hybro cockerels, were conducted in order to study the interaction between ionophorous anticoccidials and a new dihydroquinoline-type antioxidant known as duokvin. A significant, non-selective, toxic interaction was established, resulting in growth depression and improved anticoccidal efficacy against Eimeria tenella and E. mitis in these chickens. The duokvin itself showed no appreciable activity against the coccidia. The adverse effects of the interaction were eliminated, and the anticoccidial efficacy of the approved levels of ionophores was maintained, when the dietary levels of monovalent cation ionophorous monensin, salinomycin and narasin were reduced to approximately 12% in the presence of 120 p.p.m. duokvin. No adverse effects on the growth of chickens appeared in the combination with maduramicin, yet the enhancement of anticoccidial activity allowed an approx. 50% reduction of this ionophore as well.

Potentiation of ionophorous anticoccidials with dihydroquinolines: reduction of adverse interactions with antimicrobials.

In two experiments, the compatibility of the anticoccidial combinations of monensin and duokvin, as well as that of maduramicin and duokvin, with some antimicrobials widely used in the broiler production was studied in cockerels. The monensin-duokvin combination was found to be fully compatible with erythromycin, sulphachlorpyrazine, and sulphaquinoxaline. With tiamulin, a slight interaction was observed, but it was far less severe than the toxic interaction between monensin and the diterpene antibiotic. The maduramicin-duokvin combination proved to be compatible with all of the chemotherapeutics tested, including tiamulin. The results of the studies indicate that the adverse interactions of monensin and maduramicin with certain antimicrobials can be considerably diminished or even abolished by using them in reduced doses in combination with the dihydroquinoline compound duokvin.

Sulfonamide residues in eggs.

In two series of experiments lasting 3 days each, laying hens were medicated with sulfonamides via the drinking water. In the first experiment 8 laying hens were given sulfaquinoxaline (SQ) at a dose rate of 400 mg/l, while in the second trial 16 laying hens received a 3:5:5 sulfonamide mixture containing sulfaquinoxaline (SQ), sulfadimidine (SDI) and sulfamerazine (SMN), at a dose of 390 mg/l. According to the water consumption data, the hens' daily sulfonamide intake was 53.6 and 56.9 mg/kg body mass, respectively. Eggs laid during and in the first 10 days after the treatment were collected and assayed for sulfonamide residues by spectrophotometry. The detection limit of the method was 0.16 mg/l and the recovery percentage was between 70 and 80%. Sulfonamide was found to appear already in eggs laid after the first day of treatment. The absorption half-life of the drug was 0.4-0.6 day in the egg-white and 0.93-1.08 day in the egg-yolk. Peak drug level in the egg-white was measured on the last day of medication, while in the egg-yolk within 3 days after the end of treatment. The residue measured in the yolk was 13-16% of that found in the egg-white. Acetylated sulfonamide could be measured in the yolk for 3 days after the treatment: its level reached 15%. On the basis of the elimination rate, complete elimination of sulfonamides requires at least 5.2-7.4 days. Therefore, observance of the generally accepted withdrawal time of 10 days is indispensable.

Prevention and treatment of atrophic rhinitis in pigs with Getroxel, chlorquinaldol and oxytetracycline.

The sensitivity of ten Bordetella bronchiseptica and ten Pasteurella multocida strains, each isolated from cases of atrophic rhinitis (AR), was examined in tube dilution test. Getroxel, chlorquinaldol and oxytetracycline and the former two ones combined with trimethoprim inhibited the growth of both species in vitro. The minimum inhibitory and the minimum bactericidal concentration was less than 0.5 microgram/ml. When efficacy was tested in SPF in the group fed a combination of Getroxel, chlorquinaldol and oxytetracycline (60 mg, 240 mg and 360 mg/kg of feed, respectively), P. multocida disappeared from the nasal cavity by the end of a 30-day treatment. B. bronchiseptica was reisolated in low numbers from 2 out of 9 piglets. The daily body mass gain was by 7.9% higher and the feed conversion rate was by 19% better than in the control group. After slaughter, only mild signs of AR were seen in 3 out of 9 piglets treated with the above-mentioned drug combination, while in the control group severe lesions were observed in 8 out of 9 pigs. In treated commercial herds P. multocida disappeared from the nasal cavity of the piglets by the end of the treatment (42nd day of life), but the B. bronchiseptica strains could not be completely eliminated. Due to the treatment, mortality between 2 and 6 weeks of age decreased by 0.8-7.6%. Daily body mass gain was, on the average, 16.4% higher, the amount of feed needed for 1 kg body mass gain was by 15.3% lower and the duration of fattening was by 30.8 days shorter than in the control groups.

Clinical investigations of medetomidine in dogs.

Experiments with 3 doses of medetomidine (20, 40 and 80 micrograms/kg, iv. and im., respectively) were carried out on 90 dogs of 16 breeds in the Small Animal Surgery of the University of Veterinary Science, Budapest. Changes in hematology as well as in AST, AP, BUN, creatinine were studied. Medetomidine administered iv deepened the sedation and lengthened tranquillization dose-dependently. After im administration the sedative effect was still dose-dependent, but the duration of its clinical effectiveness could not be lengthened significantly. The development of the sedation could however, be quickened. The iv administration increased the level of analgesia in proportion to dosage; the im application could change the level of pain-killing effect of the drug, but could not lengthen it. According to the laboratorical determinations, regardless of the dosage and the route of application, medetomidine did not affect the AST and AP enzyme activities, or the BUN and creatinine values.