Purpose
Field trial to determine the effect of including UTP in the diet of horses diagnosed with gastric ulceration.
Background
Bioflavonoids in plants have demonstrated anti-ulcer activity in laboratory animals that is not statistically different from the proton pump inhibitor omeprazole. UTP is formulated to be rich in bioflavonoids, and the current study was conducted to
quantify the effect of UTP in horses with gastric ulceration.
Methods
Twelve racing thoroughbreds with endoscopic evidence of EGUS (score 1; see Table 1), as determined by a qualified veterinary practitioner, received 0.4 mL (0.23 g; n=6) per kg BW UTP in their feed twice daily for 28 days. Horses were removed from any/all ulcer medication for a minimum of 7 days prior to entry into the study, and no concurrent anti-ulcer medication was permitted for the 28 days of the trial. At the end of 28 days, EGUS was scored by gastric endoscope. Ulcer score at the end of the trial was compared to that from the beginning using a paired Student t-test.
Results
Mean ulcer score of all horses was 1.8 ± 0.29 on Day 0. By Day 28 this fell to 0.8 ± 0.10 (p<0.001) (Fig. 1).
Fig 1: Mean (±SEM) ulcer score of 12 racing thoroughbreds before (Day 0) and after (Day 28) supplementation with UTP. * indicates statistically significant difference (p<0.001).
Conclusions
These data provide evidence that the recommended dose of UTP reduces ulcer score when fed to racehorses for 28 days.