The detection, pharmacokinetics and behavioral effects of diisopropylamine dichloroacetate (DADA) in the horse: a preliminary report.

This study focuses on the administration of diisopropylamine dichloroacetate (DADA) and its metabolite diisopropylamine (DIPA) in horses, specifically Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds, with an effort to understand their physiological effects and establish methods to identify the presence of these drugs in the horse’s system.

Drug Administration and Investigation of Physiological Effects

• According to the study, the researchers administered DADA and DIPA to a group of Thoroughbred and Standardbred horses, to understand how these substances affect them physically. These horses were divided into different groups for the research.
• In one group, four horses were given a dose of 0.08 mg DADA per kg of body weight, and their vital signs like heart rate, respiratory rate, and body temperature were carefully monitored for a period of one hour after the drug was given. No significant physiological changes were observed in this one-hour post-administration window.
• In a different group of horses, two mares were given a higher dose of the drug – 0.80 mg DADA per kg body weight. This higher dose was associated with a temporary increase in urination.

Development of Detection Methods

• The researchers also developed methods to detect DADA and DIPA within the horse’s system, specifically focusing on the horse’s urine samples.
• The primary metabolite of DADA, DIPA, was detected using a specialized method called thin-layer chromatography. This technique was used for establishing a qualitative presence of DIPA, meaning they were checking if the metabolite was present or not, but not measuring its concentration.
• For a quantitative assessment, meaning the measurement of the actual concentration of DIPA in the urine, the researchers built a detection method using gas chromatography. The lower detection limit was marked at 0.5 micrograms per milliliter of urine.
• It is worth noting that despite developing these methods, the researchers were not able to detect DADA or DIPA in the horse’s blood samples using these techniques.