Trend of tested and slaughtered cattle for bovine tuberculosis in Iran during 2000–2014

Objective/Background: Bovine tuberculosis is one of the zoonotic diseases and important in terms of both public health and its impact on the decrease in animal products and heavy economic losses. Consequently, its control is warranted. The key in controlling bovine tuberculosis is to test and slaughter the infected cows. In this method, animals >3 months of age undergo a comparative tuberculin test, and the positive cases are sent to a slaughterhouse. This study reviews the trend of coverage process of testing and slaughtering of infected cows in Iran during 2000–2014 to evaluate the bovine tuberculosis control in this period. Methods: In the current study, the data related to the control program of bovine tuberculosis and domestic animal population in Iran were taken from the Agriculture Ministry. Next, the yearly percentage of the tested cows and the proportion of positive cows to tested cows were calculated, and the process was drawn. Results: The results show that the coverage of a tuberculin testing process has been constant. The lowest percentage of test coverage was in 2005 with 11.8%, and the highest percentage of test coverage was in 2008 with 19.2%. On average, 15.7% of cows underwent the program of tuberculin test over this period. The results showed that the proportion of positive cases to tested cows increased in 2008 and 2009, and subsequently decreased in the following years. In addition, 0.13% of tested cases in this period were positive. Conclusion: The results of this study show that the coverage of a tuberculin testing process has been constant during this period. If more animals were covered by the program, more positive cases would have been detected and removed; this will have better effect in controlling the tuberculosis. The proportion of positive tests showed that it had been increasing in 2008 and 2009, and subsequently decreasing, which indicates decreased prevalence and efficacy of the bovine tuberculosis control program in the cattle herd that underwent the tuberculin test in these years

OPIOIDERGIC AND CHOLINERGIC BUT NOT NITRIC OXIDE PATHWAYS ARE INVOLVED IN ANTINOCICEPTIVE ACTIVITY OF VITEX AGNUS-CASTUS ESSENTIAL OIL IN THE ACUTE TRIGEMINAL MODEL OF PAIN IN RAT

 Objective: Vitex agnus-castus (VAC) and its essential oil traditionally used to treat many conditions and symptoms such as premenstrual problems,mastalgia, inflammation, sexual dysfunction and pain. This study was conducted to investigate the analgesic effect of essential oil extracted from VAC(EOVAC) leaves in acute trigeminal model of nociception in adult male Wistar rats. Furthermore, possible involvements of opioidergic, cholinergic andL-arginine/NO/cyclic GMP pathway in analgesic activity of EOVAC were investigated.Methods: The EOVAC was extracted from powdered plant material by hydro-distillation in a Clevenger type apparatus. Acute trigeminal pain wasinduced by putting a drop of NaCl 5 M solution (40 μl) on the corneal surface of the eye and the numbers of eye wipes counted during the first 30 seconds.Results: EOVAC at doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg subcutaneous and morphine 2.5 and 5 mg/kg i.p. produced a significant anti-nociceptive effect inthis model of corneal pain. Naloxone (1 mg/kg i.p.) and atropine (1 mg/kg i.p.), L-arginine (100 and 200 mg/kg i.p.) and methylene blue (5 and10 mg/kg i.p.) alone had no any effect in the acute corneal pain. Pretreatment with naloxone or atropine significantly reversed the EOVAC‑inducedanalgesia, but L-arginine (300 mg/kg) and methylene blue (5 mg/kg) did not change the suppressive effect of EOVAC on pain response.Conclusion: The present results suggest that the EOVAC produced anti-nociception in the acute corneal pain through mechanisms that involved bothopioidergic system and/or the cholinergic system, but not via L-arginine/NO/cyclic GMP pathway, supporting the folkloric usage of the plant to treatvarious painful processes.Keywords: Acute trigeminal pain, Vitex agnus-castus essential oil, Opioidergic system, Cholinergic system, Rat

Antinociceptive effects, acute toxicity and chemical composition of Vitex agnus-castus essential oil

Objective: Vitex agnus-castus (VAC) and its essential oil have been traditionally used to treat many conditions and symptoms such as premenstrual problems, mastalgia, inflammation, sexual dysfunction, and pain. In this study, the effects of essential oil extracted from Vitex agnus-castus (EOVAC) leaves were investigated in three behavioral models of nociception in adult male Wistar rats. Materials and methods: Chemical composition of EOVAC was analyzed using gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and also its possible toxicity was determined in mice. Analgesic effect of EOVAC was determined using tail immersion test, formalin test, and acetic acid-induced visceral pain in rats. Results: EOVAC (s.c.) and morphine (i.p.) significantly (