Shashwati Mathurkar
Doctor of Philosophy, (Animal Science)
Study Completed: 2017
College of Sciences
Citation
Thesis Title
Pharmacology of Salicin Derivatives in Sheep
Read article at Massey Research Online: 
The pain sheep suffer during various husbandry practices as well as during injuries and diseases such as footrot could potentially be minimised with the use of analgesics such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Unfortunately, there are very few available for sheep due to high costs and potential side effects. Mrs Mathurkar explored the potential use of salicylic acid; a natural and inexpensive analgesic found in willow leaves. As part of her research, the sodium salt of salicylic acid was administered at different dose rates and the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the salicylic acid was analysed. The results indicated the minimum therapeutic plasma concentration of salicylic acid for analgesia in sheep ranged from 25 to 30 µg/mL, which was achieved for approximately 30 minutes by a 200 mg/kg intravenous dose of salicylic acid. The analgesic efficacy of willow leaves can be assessed by feeding the willow leaves to lame sheep.
Supervisors
Associate Professor Paul Chambers
Dr Kavitha Kongara
Dr Preet Singh