The Horse Information lives Here! ©
The #1 Horse Industry Information Advertising Directory!
 Contact Ann to include your company - About Us

Can Garlic Help Your Horse Fight Disease?
by Karen Briggs Smooth Run Equine

Garlic has been touted to have many health-related properties, from boosting your horse’s immune system to repelling bugs just by the garlic odor in sweat. 
In a recent study completed at the Equine Research Centre in Guelph, Ontario, a garlic metabolite showed antibacterial properties.
Wendy Pearson-O’Neill, president of the Nutraceutical Alliance, was an investigator in the study. Past research in humans indicated that garlic extract can kill some drug-resistant strains of bacteria as well as the fungus that causes ringworm. Furthermore, garlic extract seems to boost the antibiotic effect of drugs for meningitis patients. But little work has been done on garlic’s effect on horses.

The biggest problem with garlic is the tremendous variability in the content of allicin, which is generally considered to be garlic’s active compound. “How you prepare garlic has a profound effect on the allicin levels,” O’Neill says. Furthermore, allicin has a half-life in blood of less than a minute, so many researchers think another compound in garlic might be the secret superhero.
O’Neill investigated allyl mercaptan, a garlic metabolite with better stability. Researchers applied allyl mercaptan to cultures of equine strangles bacteria. After 24 hours of incubation, allyl mercaptan did indeed inhibit bacterial growth when applied at a concentration at was the equivalent of feeding a horse 272 grams of fresh garlic, a helpful dosage baseline.
As most good research does, O’Neill’s study raised a number of questions. Is allyl mercaptan well absorbed by horses? Which method of processing garlic might be the best way of preserving its activity? Could garlic’s antibacterial properties give it the potential to disrupt the delicate balance of the beneficial hindgut bacteria, affecting a horse’s ability to process fiber and manufacture B vitamins?
Another issue is the synergistic effect of garlic on some other drugs. Might this magnify their effects or make them linger in the system? Some AIDS patients reportedly use garlic to help extend the effect of drug cocktails. If something similar occurs in horses, there’s the potential for drugs to remain at testable levels that were supposed to have cleared the system prior to competition.
O’Neill hopes to answer some of these questions with Phase II of her study. She’ll be attempting to isolate and quantify allyl mercaptan in equine blood and lung fluid, which should show how well the compound is absorbed and whether it gets to the places where it can do the most good.

Contact: Smooth Run Equine, Inc.
10115 Covey Lane
Escondido, CA 92026
Phone: 888-711-6218 toll free
760-751-8988 local
Email: info@smoothrunequine.com
Website: www.smoothrunequine.com/

To advertise your horse product or service, contact Ann

InfoHorse.com, Horse Information Lives Here ®  7/25/2008
Contact Us to Advertise to over 2 million Horse Owners.      
All images and content Copyright© 2008 by InfoHorse.com, Equusite.com.

Articles, Academic Schools, Arena Maintenance, Animal Communicators, Barns, Barn and Accessories, Barn Equipment and Tractors, Breast Collars, Horse Blankets, Horse Books, Horse Videos, Horse Breeders, Horse Camping Gear, Career Schools, Carts and Buggies, Horse Training Clinicians, Equestrian Clothing, Dogs and Puppies, Horse Fencing, Western Art & Furniture, Horse Property for Sale, Horse Products For Sale, Fly Control, Foal Care, Horse Footings, Horse Gifts, Horse Health and Nutrition, Hoof and Leg, Horse Insurance, John Lyons Certified Trainers, Equine Lawyers, Leather Care, Links, Horse Property, Horse Photography, Portable Horse Stalls, Arenas and Roundpens, Horse Riding Schools, Horse Schools, Services for Horses, Horse Trailers, Horse Shipping, Horse Skin Coat Care, Horse Software, Specialty Trainers, Horse Summer Camps, Tack, Horse Trainers, Treats and Snacks, Truck Accessories, Trucks, Horse Vacations, Western Lifestyle