Types

I was surprised at the number of different plants that go under the name of ginseng. Most ginsengs are Panax ginsengs – this includes the American ginseng, Korean ginseng and Himalayan ginseng. These are very rare and hence expensive. Siberian ginseng belongs to the same family, but is a different genus – Eleutherococcus. It is more easily available and much cheaper.

History

The use of ginseng dates back to prehistoric China. The Chinese noticed that the root was shaped like a man and believed it to be a symbol of human health, promoting long life, wisdom and fertility. It soon became hugely popular. Wars broke out over ginseng lands and smuggling of the root was punishable by death.

Much later, interest in western countries was stimulated after Soviet scientists used Eleutherococcus as stress medication for cosmonauts.

Action

The following actions have been attributed to ginseng:

• anti-depressive
• physical and mental performance enhancer
• resistance stimulation

Research

Soviet scientists were the first to investigate ginseng. It became classified as an important adaptogen (a substance which improves the body’s ability to adapt to stressful situations). They showed that Siberian ginseng improves mental and physical performance under stressful conditions. In athletic events, ginseng shifts the metabolism to favour the utilisation of fat over carbohydrates for energy. This delays lactic acid build-up. Which, as any athlete will tell you, is a good thing, as lactic acid causes muscle fatigue and cramps.

Ginseng has also been shown to have immunostimulatory activity. In other words, it fights pathogens (disease-causing entities). Ginseng does this by increasing the number of white blood cells (fighting cells) and by helping with antibody formation.

Ginseng has also recently been found to be useful in the treatment of Type II diabetes in humans.

The Nutraceutical Alliance in Canada has been specifically researching ginseng in horses. They have found evidence that substantiates both the fatigue reducing and the immunostimulatory effects of ginseng.

Use

Ginseng has withstood toxicity tests, with no known side-effects except occasional cases of insomnia in humans, when taken too close to bedtime. There are also no known interactions with other drugs.

Very high doses should be avoided, however, as they can result in high blood pressure. The dose depends on the form of ginseng used. For the dry powdered root, not more than 6 grams should be taken daily.

The potential for the use of ginseng in horses is enormous. Our horses are constantly coming into contact with other horses and places, and as a result are being exposed to a wide variety of nasty foreign pathogens. The immuno-stimulatory properties of ginseng could be put to good use in helping the horse fight these pathogens.

As for the fatigue reducing effect of ginseng, the advantages are obvious – more stamina, better recovery, less muscle fatigue, more energy.

Painkiller

Devil’s Claw is reputed to have two main effects – analgesic (painkilling) and anti-inflammatory. It’s analgesic properties are not contraversial. A laboratory in France has obtained results that show a 78% reduction in pain using Devil’s Claw.

Anti-inflammatory

It is the anti-inflammatory effect of Devil’s Claw that is controversial. Some studies show a marked effect, while others report little effect at the same dose. The main difference between the two extremes is the way in which it is administered. When injected into the site of swelling, the effect is greatest. Also, when it was injected into the small intestine (and therefore bypasses the stomach), the effect was greater than when fed by mouth.

Scientists put two and two together and suspected that the stomach acid partially broke down the active ingredients of the root. To prove this, they injected an extract of Devil’s Claw that they had previously mixed with acid in the lab. Confirming their suspicions, the acid hydrolysed root had a lesser effect than the same root which had not been mixed with acid. The main consequence of this is that, when fed by mouth, a higher dose is needed than when injected. This is true of a lot of drugs.

How does it work?

Another aspect of this plant has got scientists flummoxed. That is – how does it work and which are the active ingredients? Initially, a molecule called harpagoside was proposed to be the active ingredient in Devil’s Claw. However, this theory was disproven when harpagoside injected on its own had none of the anti-inflammatry effects of the whole plant extract.

Lameness is the number one cause of racehorses ending their careers. It also affects all other horse sports. Non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID’s), such as phenybutazone (bute), are very widely used in the horse industry, with, many would argue, great success. However, long term use of NSAID’s has unpleasant side-effects, such as gastric ulcers and cartilage damage. It is also a testable substance at many events. So, Devil’s Claw, either injected or fed by mouth in a sufficient amount, would be an excellent safe and legal alternative to bute.
Devil’s Claw has also recently become illegal for competition – so remember to stop using 3 days before the event.

Echinacea has a colourful history. It was first used by American Indian tribes. Only the medicine man knew the secrets of the various plants which he would use to heal diseases. And he would only pass on these secrets to his successor when he felt himself to be near to death. So it was a very unusual yet lucky occurrence when a white doctor befriended a medicine man and learnt of the immense medicinal value of Echinacea, a plant belonging to the daisy family.

This doctor was named Meyer and he introduced western doctors to Echinacea. His long list of medicinal claims for Echinacea was met with derision. But this scorn soon turned into admiration, when the plant was shown to be effective.

Since then, the herb has been included in recognised formularies and pharmacopeias, and over 400 scientific papers have been published on its chemistry and clinical uses. It has become one of the most popular herbal medicines in the world.

How it works

Echinacea increases the disease fighting capability of the body by increasing the response that naturally occurs when the body fights off disease. It can be used as a preventative medicine to ward off disease or as a treatment for diseases.

The Equine Research Centre in Canada has recently done extensive testing of Echinacea in horses. Their trial used eight horses. Each horse was fed Echinacea for 42 days then fed no Echinacea for a further 42 days. Blood samples were taken and subjected to a complete screen every seven days.

The results were dramatic. The Echinacea increased the level of red blood cells, lymphocytes (involved with the immune response) and haemoglobin (oxygen carrier). It increased the activity of the neutrophils (cells which consume foreign particles in the blood).

Another study treated horses with strangles using Echinacea. Within 24 hours, there was a noticeable improvement in symptoms and general condition and the horse’s appetites returned to normal.

In humans, a mixture of Echinacea and vitamin C was shown to reduce the average number of days of a common cold and reduce the severity of the symptoms.

Toxicity

Echinacea has been found to be “virtually non-toxic” with no side-effects. Massive doses (many times the human therapeutic dose) were given to mice with no ill effects.

If used continuously for a long time, Echinacea starts to lose its effect. So it is recommended to use for no longer than 8 weeks followed by a one week rest period. After the rest period, the Echinacea’s effect should be optimal again.

Implications for horses

Our horses, especially competitive horses who are transported from event to event on a regular basis, are exposed to a wide variety of pathogens. Echinacea can help fight these pathogens off. This is why Echinacea is becoming one of the most widely used herbs in the equine industry.

Garlic is one of the oldest herbs used medicinally by man. As early as 3000 BC Chinese scholars wrote of garlic.Ancient Egyptians worshipped it as a god. Garlic was of such value to them, that 15 pounds of it would purchase a healthy male slave. It was also reported that the pyramid builders went on strike when deprived of their daily garlic ration!

At the beginning of the twentieth century, garlic’s popularity suffered a decline and became to be regarded as slightly improper by bourgeois households in England and America. However, a comeback has been made and today garlic is widely used both medicinally and in food.

Horses

Horse owners throughout the world feed garlic to their horses in order to:

• Repel flies and ticks
• Loosen coughs
• Fight off infection
• Improve peripheral circulation
• Aid digestion

Research

Garlic extract was found by Singh et al in 1984 to be more potent than several conventional antibiotics in inhibiting 8 out of 9 strains of antibiotic resistant bacteria.
The Equine Research Centre in Canada has recently completed an investigation into the antibacterial activity of garlic against common equine bacteria. They found that the ideal dosage for horses was about 65 g of fresh garlic. The main active ingredient of garlic is thought to be allyl mercapton, the same compound that gives you “garlic breath”.

Danger?

A recent magazine article (Hayes 2001) stated that garlic is toxic to horses, giving rise to anaemic conditions. This has given rise to great concern in the horse industry, causing a lot of people to stop feeding garlic. But the research to which this article refers was actually done on the onion, not on garlic itself. After many years of feeding garlic to horses, no similar reactions have been recorded, so it is unlikely that this extrapolation is accurate. Nevertheless, further research is clearly needed and this is presently taking place at the Equine Research Centre.

• prevent fevers,
• comfort the stomach,
• be a poultice for abscesses, boils and carbuncles,
• soothe sore throats and treat colds,
• cure baldness in men, and
• “fatten” harem women (in those days, buxom women were very prized!).

Biochemistry

The chemical composition of fenugreek is, surprisingly, extremely similar to that of cod liver oil. It contains (among other things):

• lecithin
• nucleoalbumin
• iron (in an easily digestible form)
• several alkaloids
• diosgenin (a precursor to several hormones)
• vitamins

Horses

In the past eighty years or so, fenugreek seeds have been extremely widely used by horse people to:

• promote and maintain good condition.
• encourage fussy eaters.
• increase milk production in lactating mares.
• soothe inflamed intestines.
• reduce complications induced by gastric ulcers.

It has also been found to be useful for:

• allergies,
• bruises,
• anemia,
• lung problems, and
• sinus congestion.

Although some people dismiss some of these claims as “quackery”, eighty years of popular use does seem to speak for itself, in my opinion.

Let me explain what nonsense that is.

Firstly, kelp contains 46 minerals, 16 amino acids and 11 vitamins. Hardly” precious little of anything else”. Secondly, the level of iodine in a good batch of kelp is negligible. If fed correctly (15g per day) the level of iodine is way below toxic levels.

Juliette de Bairacli Levy was the first to recommend seaweed as a nutritional supplement for animals, in the 1930s. Veterinarians of the day mocked her suggestion, but today she has been proved to have been correct. Kelp is now widely used and accepted as a valuable and inexpensive feed supplement for all livestock including horses and dogs.

Kelp is:  anti-inflammatory, demulcent, emollient, protective against radiation, anti-cancer, anti-tumour, antibiotic, immuno-stimulant, anti-viral and soothing to intestinal mucosa.

The alginates in kelp:

• assist in the prevention of absorption of toxic metals like mercury, cadmium,
• plutonium and cesium.
• protect the body against radiation.

In dogs, it is recommended by Martin Zucker (The Veterinarians’ Guide to Natural Remedies for Dogs”) for cancer, heart disease, mange, old age, stool eating and thyroid gland regulation.

Hilary Page Self (A Modern Horse Herbal) says that kelp is “used extensively for underactive thyroid, and as an excellent source of minerals for the body and used externally for compresses to reduce inflammation and arthritic pain.”

All in all, kelp is an excellent all-round supplement. Just be sure to obtain from a reliable source (like The Herbal Horse or The Herbal Pet ). Kelp grown in polluted water can contain unacceptable levels of contaminants.