An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to measure growth hormone level in serum and milk of buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis).

An indirect Sandwich ELISA to measure growth hormone level in serum and milk of buffaloes was developed. The assay was based on purified anti rbST IgG raised in rabbits and chicken and rabbit anti chicken IgG horseradish peroxidase. The assay was validated in terms of sensitivity, specificity, precision and recovery. Parallelism was demonstrated between the standard curve and serially diluted serum, milk and pituitary derived growth hormone. Sensitivity of the assay was 0.1 ng/ml. Recovery of exogenous bovine somatotropin from serum and milk ranged from 90 to 102% and 96 to 108% respectively. The intra and inter assay variations to measure growth hormone in serum and milk were 3.36 to 8.81% and 6.01 to 12.31% respectively. Statistical analysis for parallelism and cross-reactivity of rbST with serum of other species confirmed the reproducibility of the assay.

Pharmacokinetics of pefloxacin in goats after intravenous or oral administration.

The plasma concentrations and pharmacokinetics of the fluoroquinolone antimicrobial agent pefloxacin, following the administration of a single intravenous (10 mg/kg) or oral (20 mg/kg) dose, were investigated in healthy female goats. The antimicrobial activity in plasma was measured at predetermined times after drug administration by an agar well diffusion microbiological assay, using Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) as the test organism. Concentrations of the drug > or = 0.25 microg/ml were maintained in plasma for up to 6 and 10 h after intravenous (i.v.) or oral administration of pefloxacin, respectively. The concentration time data for pefloxacin in plasma after i.v. or oral administration conformed to two- and one-compartment open models, respectively. Plasma pefloxacin concentrations decreased rapidly during the initial phase after i.v. injection, with a distribution half-life (t(1/2alpha)) of 0.10 +/- 0.01 h. The terminal phase had a half-life (t(1/2beta)) of 1.12 +/- 0.21 h. The volume of distribution at steady state (Vdss), mean residence time (MRT) and total systemic clearance (ClB) of pefloxacin were 1.08 +/- 0.09 L/kg, 1.39 +/- 0.23 h and 821 +/- 88 (ml/h)/kg, respectively. Following oral administration of pefloxacin, the maximum concentration in the plasma (Cmax) was 2.22 +/- 0.48 microg/ml and the interval from administration until maximum concentration (tmax) was 2.3 +/- 0.7 h. The absorption half-life (t(1/2ka)) mean absorption time (MAT) and elimination half-life of pefloxacin were 0.82 +/- 0.40, 4.2 +/- 1.0 and 2.91 +/- 0.50 h, respectively. The oral bioavailability of pefloxacin was 42% +/- 5.8%. On the basis of the pharmacokinetic data, a dosage regimen of 20 mg/kg, i.v. at 8 h intervals or orally twice daily, is suggested for treating infections caused by drug-sensitive pathogens in goats.