Adsorptive effects of di-tri-octahedral smectite on Clostridium perfringens alpha, beta, and beta-2 exotoxins and equine colostral antibodies.

This study investigated whether di-tri-octahedral smectite (DTOS) can bind and remove harmful Clostridium perfringens exotoxins and equine colostral antibodies. The research explored its potential use in the treatment of neonatal clostridiosis in horses.

Methodology

• The researchers co-incubated three types of C. perfringens exotoxins (alpha, beta, and beta-2) with varying concentrations of DTOS or bismuth subsalicylate. Bismuth subsalicylate was used as a comparative adsorbent material.
• The remaining toxin levels after incubation were measured using toxin-specific ELISA tests. ELISA, or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, is a methodology used to detect the presence of antigens or antibodies in the samples.
• Similar to exotoxins, colostral samples from healthy mares were individually co-incubated with varying concentrations of DTOS. The concentrations of the colostral IgG antibodies were determined via single radial immunodiffusion assay, a test commonly used to measure the concentrations of proteins in a solution.

Findings

• The results showed that DTOS significantly reduced the amount of each C. perfringens exotoxin in the co-incubated samples; the reduction was found to be dose-dependent. DTOS proved to be more effective than bismuth subsalicylate in reducing these exotoxins in in vitro studies.
• However, when DTOS was co-incubated with samples of mare’s colostrum, a slight decrease in colostral IgG concentration was detected at 1:4 to 1:16 dilutions. This decrease was not considerable when DTOS was used at a dilution of 1:32.

Conclusion and Implications

• The findings suggest that DTOS can effectively bind and remove C. perfringens exotoxins, which can be useful in treating neonatal horses suffering from clostridiosis, an infection caused by C. perfringens.
• The reduction of colostral IgG antibody levels indicates that DTOS also affects the availability of these antibodies. This should be taken into account while planning treatment plans.
• This research, however, was conducted in vitro. Further in vivo studies are needed to confirm DTOS’s clinical efficacy in treating clostridiosis in horses.