Brielle Rosa
Oct. 7, 2021
Do Alberta鈥檚 feral horses self-medicate with plants to fight off parasites?聽
A (UCVM) research project is looking to see if feral horses are 鈥榮elf-medicating鈥 with plants that have anti-parasitic properties. The study, funded by the , aims to discover new information of benefit to veterinary and potentially human medicine.
鈥淗istorically, traditional knowledge of medicinal plants used to treat human ailments has led to the discovery of many medically important compounds,鈥 says Dr. Brielle Rosa, DVM, PhD, an assistant professor of veterinary pharmacology at UCVM. 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 been little investigation of Indigenous knowledge of plant-derived medications for veterinary use.鈥
Zoopharmacognosy, or self-medication, by animals has never been studied in horses. 鈥淏ut there are anecdotal reports of horses eating plants that have little nutritional value but that may have medicinal value,鈥 says Rosa.
Plants chosen for study guided by local Indigenous knowledge keepers
Rosa is collaborating with Brenda Holder, a traditional knowledge keeper of plant medicine and member of the 惭茅迟颈蝉 Nation of Alberta.
鈥淭his is a really important collaboration for me to help bring forward some of these skills, knowledge, traditions, and culture from Indigenous Peoples,鈥 says Holder.
Brielle Rosa
Traditional Indigenous knowledge is integrated in the research project to identity which plants may have medicinal value. Rosa says the parasites in feral horses are similar to the parasites of domestic horses. And while they haven鈥檛 done the DNA analysis of samples yet, based on fecal egg counts it appears that strongyles 鈥斅爊ematode worms in the gastrointestinal tract 鈥斅燼re the predominant type of parasites present. 聽
鈥淭his project is a novel approach to anti-parasitic drug discovery,鈥 says Rosa.
Summer students help observe plant-eating habits of feral horses near Sundre
Through the Indigenous Summer Student Program, two 草莓污视频导航 students were hired to participate in this research project. Kobe Belhumeur, who belongs to the Sapotaweyak Cree Nation, is a third-year chemistry student.
鈥淚 applied for this program because I saw it as an amazing opportunity to get experience in the field I want to go into in my future and I also really love being outdoors and the Indigenous aspect of learning more about my culture.鈥
Brielle Rosa
Morgan Hughes is a fourth-year ecology student and member of the 惭茅迟颈蝉聽Nation of Alberta. The program and research study combine her passion for ecology and veterinary medicine, as well as giving her the opportunity to learn more about traditional knowledge of plants.
鈥淚 was excited to be a part of this project because it will really help further my education. I鈥檓 hopefully going into vet med in the future.鈥
The year-and-a half-long research project consists of field work and data collection. Over the summer, Rosa, Holder, and the two students observed several bands of feral horses in the Sundre area, using a combination of remote cameras and direct observations to see what plants they were eating that may have anti-parasitic properties. They also took samples to determine the parasite loads of the horses; this will allow them to determine if there is a correlation between parasite burden and the plants ingested.
鈥淭his research may lead to the identification of novel antiparasitic agents, which would benefit both animal and human health,鈥 says Rosa. Plants identified through this work as having likely antiparasitic activity will be further investigated in Rosa鈥檚 laboratory. Belhumeur and Hughes are also continuing their work on the project throughout the school year.