Equine sarcoids are the most prevalent skin tumors in horses, followed by malignant melanomas. Currently, there are minimal therapies available that locally target either tumor.
Drs. Lisa Annabel Weber, Anne Funtan, Reinhard Paschke, Julien Delarocque, Jutta Kalbitz, Jessica Meißner, Karsten Feige, Manfred Kietzmann and Jessika-Maximiliane Cavalleri created a study to determine if acid derived from some plants would kill the cancer cells.
They determined that flowering quince, white birch, rosemary and members of the persimmon family can be used to make an acid that kills cancer cells by directly effecting their mitochondria.
Betulinic acid occurs when betulin is oxidized; the researchers created a study to see if botulin and betulinic acid worked as a topical treatment possibility against sarcoids and melanomas. After being treated for 48 hours, the number of necrotic cells was less than 2 percent in both melanoma and sarcoid cells.
They determined that both botulin and betulinic acid inhibited the growth of sarcoid and melanoma cells in a lab setting. They recommend that additional studies be done in live horses to fully assess the anti-tumor effects of topically applied acid. Treatment regimens including short application intervals for long lengths of time could make the acid more concentrated and effective.
Read the full study here.
Read more at HorseTalk.
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