Activated charcoal is known for its favorable effects in treating diarrhea and limiting toxin uptake in horses’ gastrointestinal tracts. It has few adverse effects, has a low cost, and is eliminated in the feces. Recent human studies looked at using activated charcoal on ulcerated skin wounds for its adsorbent properties. Four weeks of treating chronic ulcerated skin wounds with silver-impregnated activated charcoal resulted in reduced size, edema, and exudate.
While equine gastric ulcer disease is typically treated with proton pump inhibitors or histamine H2-receptor antagonist drugs, researchers in Brazil recently evaluated activated charcoal as a potential therapy.
Research on Activated Charcoal for Horses
Because activated charcoal adheres to superficial tissues, it has the potential to work as a protective layer while adsorbing cellular debris and other substances. In this study, researchers induced gastric ulceration of the nonglandular stomach in five horses averaging three years of age. Activated charcoal in the form of Captor (Inovet) was diluted in 100 milliliters of water and delivered via a gastroscopic probe to glandular erosions or ulcerations. (Captor combines activated charcoal, zeolite, inulin, pyridoxine, glutamic acid, and zinc chelate.) After five minutes of charcoal contact with the lesions, the stomach mucosa was lavaged with water. Following that procedure, researchers biopsied the ulcerative and erosive areas.
Research Findings
Charcoal particles adhered to the epithelial surface or luminal content of the lesions, with some remaining as residual charcoal following the lavage and biopsy sampling and preparation. The study was unable to determine the duration of charcoal adhesion to injured nonglandular gastric mucosa, but the fact that charcoal remained suggests it could have a favorable effect on gastric erosions. Future studies are necessary to determine the duration of activated charcoal adhesion and its efficacy as a protectant and therapy for equine gastric ulcer disease.
Reference
Zibordi M, Sá LRM, Belli CB. Activated charcoal application in gastric ulceration areas in horses: preliminary experimental study. Braz J Vet Res Anim Sci. 2024;61:e218038 DOI: 10.11606/issn.1678-4456.bjvras.2024.218038
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- Feeding Horses to Guard Against Gastric Ulcer Syndrome
- Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome: Diet & Management Strategies
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