Medicinal Plants for Chronic Disease in Small Animals

A major contributing factor in the development of chronic diseases and age related diseases is oxidative stress associated with risk factors such as stress, environmental pollutants, diet, radiation and infection that interact with cells through the generation of reactive oxygen species. In animals an association between oxidative stress and chronic disease has been demonstrated in many conditions including: inflammatory bowel disease in dogs; degenerative myelopathy in dogs; cancer in dogs; inflammatory skin disease in dogs; immune-mediated hemolytic anemia in dogs; periodontitis in dogs; cataracts in poodles; canine chronic hepatitis; canine dementia; chronic kidney disease cats and dogs; myxomatous mitral valve disease in dogs; FIV in cats; pancreatitis in small animals and hyperadrenocorticism.

Medicinal plants are composed of phytochemical constituents with varied phytochemistry and physiological actions with many such plants having significant antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-neoplastic, anti-fibrotic and circulation improving properties. The antioxidant properties and other actions of herbs can be exploited in the treatment and support of common conditions. For example Crataegus sp. in chronic heart conditions; Withania somnifera in degenerative myelopathy; Salvia miltiorrhiza, Curcumin, Cordyceps sinensis, Astragalus, Rehmannia glutinosa, Bupleurum falcatum and Angelica sinensis in chronic renal disease; Coptis chinensis, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Silybum marianum, Bupleurum chinensis, Salvia miltiorrhiza and Scutellaria baicalensis in chronic liver disease and curcumin in hyperadrenocorticism. The potential of medicinal plants, alone or in combination with conventional treatment represent promising tools for the development of new treatment concepts for chronic disease of small animals.