Plant extracts obtained from neem and chinaberry, both plants with medical and insecticide potential, reduced the presence of lentivirus in goat milk by 1,000 times and in colostrum by 800 times. The research, carried out by Embrapa and State University of Ceará (UECE), indicates the extracts have potential to produce antiviral drugs. Disease control is thus expected to become more accessible to Brazilian farmers who do not have structure to perform thermization or pasteurization in their farms. These processes are not only expensive but can also deactivate important immunoglobulins for the immunity of kids and lambs. Research with goats and sheep can contribute to human health, since HIV is also a type of lentivirus. New research shows promising results with the use of plant extracts to inhibit the action of the virus of caprine arthritis encephalitis, one of the diseases that most affect goat and sheep herds. Tests carried out by Embrapa Goats and Sheep (CE) and State University of Ceará (Uece) with extracts obtained from neem (Azadirachta indica) and chinaberry (Melia azedarach) showed the reduction in the amount of lentivirus particles in goat milk by 1,000 times and in colostrum by 800 times. These results indicate that the extracts can be used in further steps in future tests as compounds to produce antiviral medicaments to be used with goats and sheep. If these drugs present a good performance, they will become biological alternatives to control caprine arthritis encephalitis in milk and colostrum, which are the main sources of virus transmission to caprine offspring. The research results were published this year in an paper in the scientific journal Scientific Reports by Nature. The main advantages of an antiviral medicament is to extend lentivirus control, besides making it more accessible to various rural producers who do not have structure or access to equipment to carry out thermization and pasteurization of the milk and colostrum for their farms. The tests on the use of extracts to inhibit the activity of the virus were conduct by the biologist Ana Lídia Sousa, during the research for her doctoral thesis on Veterinary Sciences at UECE. Her thesis co-advisor was Rizaldo Pinheiro,a researcher at Embrapa Goats & Sheep, and she carried out part of the experiments at an Embrapa laboratory. Sousa, who is a lecturer at the Ibiapaba College of Education (Faedi), reinforces that the intention is to produce material that can be taken to pharmaceutical industry to be commercialized on a large scale, since the existing processes to inhibit the virus in milk and colostrum (thermization and pasteurization) are not accessible to all Brazilian farmers, especially those who do not have access to electricity, skilled labor, and equipment. “That is why we intend to produce an antiviral medicament that makes farmers’ lives easier. A standardized and commercialized product, an easier way to inhibit the virus, not demanding so much skilled labor”, she remarks. Pinheiro highlights the fact that thermization and pasteurization may cause problems because they inhibit immunoglobulins that are important to kids and lambs’ immunity. “In addition, these are processes that demand equipment and time, so, in order to find other ways, we thought of plant extracts to inactivate the virus”, he states. In the tests, the milk and colostrum collected from the herd at Embrapa were infected with caprine lentivirus. After that, the samples were subjected to plant extracts during a phase called “cultivation”, in which it was possible to observe, during 63 days, if there was antiviral activity. The results confirmed the researchers’ hypothesis. They tested plant extracts that had already showed in previous research potential reduction of the activity of other viruses. “We decided to use these plant extracts because they had already showed antiviral activity with other viruses, such as dengue, zika, influenza, and, even in some studies, HIV”, Souza affirms. For Pinheiro, an important aspect of this alternative is to seek the inactivation of viral activity in milk and colostrum, which are the main ways to transmit the virus. “There are other means of transmission, such as long contact among animals or through semen, since the virus is present in secretions and excretions. However, this is the main way”, the researcher says. Alternatives, such as the so-called antiviral cocktails used in human medicine to control HIV, which is a type of lentivirus, are not accepted in veterinary medicine, especially for dairy animals, because they may cause residues in goat milk, for instance. New tests to obtain pharmaceuticals The successful results of the laboratory tests encourage the research team to carry out new experiments with animals to better verify the effects of these compounds in organisms. The first work this type has already started in the program of post-graduation on Veterinary Sciences at UECE, in partnership with Embrapa Goats & Sheep. According to Maria de Fátima Teixeira, a professor at UECE, who was Ana Lídia’s advisor and continues with the research work, this new step is necessary to accomplish more precise goals and to evaluate the possibility of applying this new method in commercial herds. “This work is a phase of dose variation and adjustment. The most desirable perspective is the obtention of a commercial product to be used in management routine of herds of small ruminants in Ceará and other Brazilian states, and, who knows, in other countries”, she highlights. Pinheiro supports the search for alternatives to reduce even more viral load or elimination of the virus not compromising milk and colostrum quality. He adds that research on goats and sheep may collaborate with human health research, since HIV is also a type of lentivirus, similar to those affecting small ruminants. “Some people are intolerant or resistant to HIV medication effects. It would be very important to develop a medication that could help reduce HIV viral load and, consequently, the effect of the disease”, the researcher explains. Among goats and sheep, lentivirus are the agents causing caprine arthritis encephalitis and Maedi-visna [see the chart on how to prevent these diseases at the end of the news article]. Other types of lentivirus affect different species of animals, causing illnesses like AIDS in humans, simian AIDS in monkeys, equine infectious anemia in horses, and feline immunodeficiency in cats. Challenges to control caprine arthritis encephalitis Caprine arthritis encephalitis cannot be cured yet, and it causes hearing loss and affects milk quality. Therefore, the search of control alternatives to its transmission among Brazilian herds is a challenge for Brazilian agricultural research. For professor Fátima Teixeira, it is a challenge to deal with a disease that do not have a vaccine or commercial treatment available, which impairs most recommended measures to control transmitted illnesses. “Once the animal gets sick, it will be ill for the rest of its life and will also suffer productive harms, influencing the decrease of economic yield of the species”, she states. The control of the disease requires attention to animal health management guidelines to diminish yield losses. Thus, medications to inhibit viral activity are an alternative for herds to cope with caprine arthritis encephalitis, reducing the impacts of the symptoms in the production and in animal health. “Unfortunately, this disease has spread all over the country. Countless dairy goat herds have already had the problem, causing significative losses of milk yield and weight loss, which compromises the yield. With these researchers, we have conditions to minimize losses, reducing viral load, delaying clinic symptoms and, consequently, promoting animal welfare, with higher yield”, Pinheiro adds. Lentivirus diseases control Caprine arthritis encephalitis and Maedi-visna are the main diseases caused by lentivirus in goats and sheep. The control of these diseases demands information on its transmission forms and on management measures to control them. Caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE) This disease can be transmitted by consumption of infected milk or colostrum, contact among animals, reflux of contaminated milk in unregulated milking machines; hands, towels, needles, and dehorning equipment that was contaminated during artificial insemination. To prevent caprine arthritis encephalitis transmission, the following measures to stop contamination of the animals are recommended: avoid buying animals from infected areas, do not introduce not-tested animals, carry out clinical assessments every year of the herds. For more information, click here. Maedi-visna It is a viral infection affecting goat and sheep herds that propagates through various secretions, such as nasal discharge, milk, colostrum, and saliva. The main cause is contaminated milk or colostrum. It may occur by direct contact, by hands, towels, needles, tattoo artists, contaminated dehorning equipment, and artificial insemination. As the main form of transmission of the disease is through colostrum, it is recommended isolation and artificial feeding of the lamb born from sick mother. Imports of animals must be done from areas free from the disease and negative tests are required to avoid lentivirus development. Other data can be accessed here.