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Evaluation of medicinal turpentine used for the prevention of bovine babesiosis in southern KwaZulu-Natal and the eastern Free State

Medicinal turpentine has been used extensively in the eastern Free State and KwaZulu-Natal in the belief that it is able to prevent and treat redwater in cattle. A number of commercial beef farmers have been using it for many years and the information has been passed down through generations. Redwater is often a fatal disease in cattle and results in losses of large numbers every year in South Africa. In this study redwater is used to describe both Babesia bigemina (African redwater) and Babesia bovis (Asiatic redwater). Redwater is also known as babesiosis. Medicinal turpentine is obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from numerous pine tree species as a by-product during the production of chemical wood pulp9,72. The use of turpentine for the treatment of redwater is, however, yet to be scientifically validated. This study was initiated in an attempt to investigate the validity in the use of the turpentine as a medicinal agent. For this study the use of turpentine was evaluated in three parts. The first component of the study involved a detailed survey with ten commercial farmers from KwaZulu-Natal and the eastern Free State who were known to be proponents for the use of turpentine. The second part of the study made use of a screening assay of Babesia caballi in a red cell culture which was exposed to various concentrations of turpentine in comparison to Diminazene and Imidocarb. Both of these drugs are used on a large scale in the conventional treatment of redwater and are at this point in time the most effective treatments available in South Africa. In the third part a tolerance study was undertaken. Twenty four cattle were treated with turpentine. Three different volumes were used and a control group was treated with saline. Blood was then drawn from these animals at specified intervals and pre-determined parameters were measured. These included obtaining serum for Babesia bovis and Babesia bigemina serology to determine whether the animals used had ever been exposed to either one of these parasites. Temperatures, weights, pregnancy status and injection site reactions were also monitored. From the information gathered farmers are using turpentine in a fairly consistent manner so it was relatively straight forward to design a treatment protocol for the tolerance study that could be representative of what was being done in the field. The cultures indicated that turpentine may have a delayed static effect on parasite growth or it may have an indirectly cidal effect. This effect was most obvious at certain concentrations. It was not seen with all the concentrations used in the cultures. The tolerance study revealed that a significant effect was seen in the protein levels and no deleterious effects were noted either in liver or kidney function. Further studies will need to be undertaken to determine the exact effect turpentine has on the immune response and whether this response is in fact adequate to protect animals from redwater. AFRIKAANS : Die gebruik van medisinale terpentyn is ekstensief in KwaZulu-Natal en die oos Vrystaat gebruik vir die voorkoming van beide Afrika en Asiatiese rooiwaterstamme. Hierdie gebruik is reeds geslagte lank vir die behandeling en voorkoming van rooiwater deur boere gebruik. Rooiwater is n toenemende probleem vir kommersiële boere en daar kom jaarliks groot veeverliese voor. Medisinale terpentyn is die byproduk van sekere denneboomspesies. Die harpuis verkry tydens die vervaardiging van houtpulp met die Kraftproses, word gedistilleer9,72. Tydens die ondersoek na die gebruik van terpentyn deur sekere boere is eerstens tien boere van KwaZulu-Natal en die oos Vrystaat betrek. ‘n Vraelys is opgestel waarin die betrokke boere oor die gebruik van terpentyn gevra is. Tweedens is kulture van Babesia caballi in die laboratorium gekweek en met verskillende konsentrasies van terpentyn behandel. Diminazene en Imidocarb is as die positiewe kontroles gebruik. Beide hierdie produkte word op groot skaal met sukses deur boere gebruik om beide rooiwaterspesies te bestry. Huidiglik is dit die mees effektiewe behandeling van rooiwater in Suid Afrika. Derdens is die verdraagsaamheidstudie onderneem en vier en twintig beeste is in die proef gebruik. Terpentyn is teen drie verskillende konsentrasies gebruik. Die kontrole groep is met soutwater behandel. Bloed is met verskillende intervalle van die beeste getrek en vooraf bepaalde parameters is vir meting gebruik. Dié oefening het ingesluit die verkryging van serum om te bepaal of die diere voorheen blootgestel was aan enige van die rooiwaterspesies. Temperatuur, gewigte, dragtigheidstatus en reaksie op die inspuitplekke is gemonitor. Die gegewens ingewin by die boere wat terpentyn gebruik, was voor die handliggend om toleransie daarvan in die praktyk te bepaal. Die kweking van die parasiete dui daarop dat verskillende konsentrasies van terpentyn die groei daarvan vertraag en moontlik vernietig. Hierdie effek is nie by al die konsentrasies waargeneem nie. Die toleransie studie het aan die lig gebring dat dit ‘n effek op die proteïenvlakke gehad het maar geen newe-effekte op die lewer en nierfunksie gehad het nie. Verdere studies sal onderneem moet word om te bepaal watter effek terpentyn op die immuunstelsel het en of dit genoegsaam is om diere teen rooiwater te beskerm. Copyright / Die gebruik van medisinale terpentyn is ekstensief in KwaZulu-Natal en die oos Vrystaat gebruik vir die voorkoming van beide Afrika en Asiatiese rooiwaterstamme. Hierdie gebruik is reeds geslagte lank vir die behandeling en voorkoming van rooiwater deur boere gebruik. Rooiwater is n toenemende probleem vir kommersiële boere en daar kom jaarliks groot veeverliese voor. Medisinale terpentyn is die byproduk van sekere denneboomspesies. Die harpuis verkry tydens die vervaardiging van houtpulp met die Kraftproses, word gedistilleer9,72. Tydens die ondersoek na die gebruik van terpentyn deur sekere boere is eerstens tien boere van KwaZulu-Natal en die oos Vrystaat betrek. ‘n Vraelys is opgestel waarin die betrokke boere oor die gebruik van terpentyn gevra is. Tweedens is kulture van Babesia caballi in die laboratorium gekweek en met verskillende konsentrasies van terpentyn behandel. Diminazene en Imidocarb is as die positiewe kontroles gebruik. Beide hierdie produkte word op groot skaal met sukses deur boere gebruik om beide rooiwaterspesies te bestry. Huidiglik is dit die mees effektiewe behandeling van rooiwater in Suid Afrika. Derdens is die verdraagsaamheidstudie onderneem en vier en twintig beeste is in die proef gebruik. Terpentyn is teen drie verskillende konsentrasies gebruik. Die kontrole groep is met soutwater behandel. Bloed is met verskillende intervalle van die beeste getrek en vooraf bepaalde parameters is vir meting gebruik. Dié oefening het ingesluit die verkryging van serum om te bepaal of die diere voorheen blootgestel was aan enige van die rooiwaterspesies. Temperatuur, gewigte, dragtigheidstatus en reaksie op die inspuitplekke is gemonitor. Die gegewens ingewin by die boere wat terpentyn gebruik, was voor die handliggend om toleransie daarvan in die praktyk te bepaal. Die kweking van die parasiete dui daarop dat verskillende konsentrasies van terpentyn die groei daarvan vertraag en moontlik vernietig. Hierdie effek is nie by al die konsentrasies waargeneem nie. Die toleransie studie het aan die lig gebring dat dit ‘n effek op die proteïenvlakke gehad het maar geen newe-effekte op die lewer en nierfunksie gehad het nie. Verdere studies sal onderneem moet word om te bepaal watter effek terpentyn op die immuunstelsel het en of dit genoegsaam is om diere teen rooiwater te beskerm. / Dissertation (MMedVet)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Production Animal Studies / unrestricted

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:up/oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/24954
Date24 May 2012
CreatorsBiggs, L.J. (Louise Joanne)
ContributorsCarrington, Christopher Antony Paul, Naidoo, Vinny, weezyw@hotmail.com
PublisherUniversity of Pretoria
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
Detected LanguageUnknown
TypeDissertation
Rights© 2011, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria

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