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This review aims to present current knowledge on the effects of honey bee products on animals based on in vivo studies, focusing on their application in clinical veterinary practice. Honey’s best-proven effectiveness is in treating wounds, including those infected with antibiotic-resistant microorganisms, as evidenced in horses, cats, dogs, mice, and rats. Propolis manifested a healing effect in numerous inflammatory and painful conditions in mice, rats, dogs, and pigs and also helped in oncological cases in mice and rats. Bee venom is best known for its effectiveness in treating neuropathy and arthritis, as shown in dogs, mice, and rats. Besides, bee venom improved reproductive performance, immune response, and general health in rabbits, chickens, and pigs. Pollen was effective in stimulating growth and improving intestinal microflora in chickens. Royal jelly might be used in the management of animal reproduction due to its efficiency in improving fertility, as shown in rats, rabbits, and mice. Drone larvae are primarily valued for their androgenic effects and stimulation of reproductive function, as evidenced in sheep, chickens, pigs, and rats. Further research is warranted to determine the dose and method of application of honey bee products in animals.

Thymol is a natural essential oil derived from the plant Thymus vulgaris L. It is known to be beneficial for human and animal health and has been used in beekeeping practice against Varroa mite for years. In this study, the genotoxic and antigenotoxic potential of thymol were evaluated on the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) continuous cell line AmE-711 for the first time. Using the Comet assay, three increasing concentrations (10, 100, and 1000 µg/mL) of thymol were tested. Negative control (non-treated cells) and positive control (cells treated with 100 µM H2O2) were also included. The absence of thymol cytotoxicity was confirmed with the Trypan blue exclusion test. Thymol in the concentration of 10 µg/mL did not increase DNA damage in AmE-711 honey bee cells, while 100 and 1000 µg/mL concentrations showed genotoxic effects. For testing the antigenotoxic effect, all concentrations of thymol were mixed and incubated with H2O2. The antigenotoxic effect against was absent at all concentrations (10, 100, 1000 μg/mL) tested. Moreover, thymol enhanced the H2O2-induced DNA migration in the Comet assay. The obtained results indicate genotoxic effects of thymol on cultured honey bee cells suggesting its careful application in beekeeping practice to avoid possible negative effects on honey bees.

Control of swine dysentery with antibiotics is often ineffective due to the resistance of Brachyspira hyodysenteriae. The potential of some herbal-based components against B. hyodysenteriae was previously studied in vitro. This study aims at the evaluation of in vivo efficacy of phytogenic feed additives in the control of swine dysentery

Bluetongue, a vector-born disease caused by the Bluetongue virus (BTV) and transmitted by Culicoides biting midges, is considered to be one of the most important diseases of domestic ruminants. The first outbreak of bluetongue in Serbia was reported in 2001, when BTV serotype 9 was identified in sampled materials. In 2014, outbreak of BTV-4 in Serbia caused considerable economic losses affecting sheep, cattle and goats. During this outbreak, BTV-4 was recorded in 644 outbreaks within 49 municipalities, part of 17 administrative regions. From the total number of sheep kept in areas affected by bluetongue (n=1 748 110), 2 083 cases (0.2%) were proven to be BTV-4 infected. Total of 206 infected cattle and 24 infected goats were reported during this investigation period, which represents 0.06% and 0.03% of the total number of cattle and goats kept in affected areas, respectively. The highest incidence of infected sheep, cattle and goats was recorded on the territory covered by veterinary institute of Nis. Recorded lethality in cattle, sheep and goats was 18.45% (n=38), 48.10% (n=1002) and 54.17% (n=13), respectively. The peak of the outbreak was in September and October when 94.43% of the confirmed positive cases, regardless of the species, was recorded. Monitoring of bluetongue disease in Serbia relies on active surveillance programmes aimed at: (i) identification and tracing of susceptible and potentially infected animals and (ii) detection, distribution and prevalence of insect vectors. Vaccination of sheep is planned to be implemented as a control measure against bluetongue in Serbia.

The aim of the study was to establish morphometric, biochemical and hematological values for the endangered Balkan donkey breed (Serbia) and to explore the possible age dependence of the parameters tested. Inter-breed similarity of morphometric parameters was assessed by comparing the data obtained for the Balkan donkey with morphometric measurements of several previously characterized domestic donkey breeds. The study population included 74 donkeys, divided in two age groups (group A ≤ 3 years; group B > 3 years). In total, 18 morphometric, 13 hematological and 14 biochemical parameters were assessed. Significant morphometric differences (p

Thelazia callipaeda is a parasitic nematode causing ocular infections in different mammalian species and humans, clinically manifested as lacrimation, conjunctivitis, keratitis, corneal opacity or corneal ulcer. In this paper, we reported six cases of autochthonous canine and feline thelaziosis on different localities in Serbia. Total of 285 parasites (85 males and 200 females) were collected from the eyes of infected animals (n=6) suffering from uni- or bilateral conjunctivitis, with the number of parasites ranging from 7 to 150 per animal. All parasites were morphologically identified as T. callipaeda, while molecular analyses of cytochrome oxidase 1 (cox1) gene revealed the presence of h1 haplotype, as the unique previously reported in other studies in Europe. Since T. callipaeda is a newly detected parasite in Serbia with the infective potential for humans, there is a necessity for animal owners education and cooperation among professional services in order to control this zoonosis.

Adrenalin je neurotransmiter i hormon koji ima važne uloge u fi ziološkim regulatornim mehanizmima. Predmet istraživanja u ovom radu bila je evaluacija primarnih oštećenja DNK na izolovanim humanim limfocitima izloženim dejstvu adrenalina primenom in vitro Komet testa. Odnos doza-odgovor na limfocitima čoveka određen je u rasponu koncentracija adrenalina od 0.01 μM do 300 μM pri različitim dužinama tretmana (1h, 2h, 4h i 24h). Dobijeni rezultati pokazuju da adrenalin indukuje oštećenja DNK u rasponu od 5 do 300 μM nakon 1, 2 i 4 h tretmana. Najmanje oštećenje DNK zapaženo je nakon 24 h - samo su najveće koncentracije adrenalina (150 μM i 300 μM) prouzrokovale povećan stepen oštećenja DNK. Da bi odredili moguć doprinos reaktivnih kiseoničnih vrsta (ROS) u nastanku oštećenja DNK pod dejstvom adrenalina, koristili smo antioksidanse katalazu (100 IU/mL i 500 IU/mL) i kvercetin (100 μM i 500 μM). Kotretman limfocita adrenalinom (300 μM) i antioksidansima u trajanju od 1 h, značajno je smanjio količinu DNK u repovima kometa. Prema tome, može se zaključiti da adrenalin ispoljava genotoksične efekte uglavnom preko stvaranja reaktivnih kiseoničnih vrsta, a jedan deo oštećenja DNK se popravi tokom prva četiri časa, nakon tretmana adrenalinom.

Pčelinji krpelj Varroa destructor i mikrosporidija Nosema ceranae su najznačajniji faktori rizika po zdravlje pčela i pčelarstvo. Dugo se smatralo da N. apis i N. ceranae infi ciraju isključivo ćelije crevnog epitela pčela, međutim neki nalazi ukazuju na prisustvo ovih mikrosporidija i u drugim tkivima. Postoje indikacije da se ovi patogeni mogu naći i u hemolimfi pčela, kao medijumu za njihovu distribuciju do anatomski udaljenih tkiva. S obzirom na to da se V. destructor kao ektoparazit hrani hemolimfom pčela, cilj ovog rada bio je ispitivanje prisustva DNK mikrosporidija roda Nosema u hemolimfi pčela i pčelinjem krpelju V. destructor.

Summary: This study is focused on evaluating 12 microsatellite markers (TGLA227, BM2113, TGLA53, ETH10, SPS115, TGLA126, TGLA122, INRA23, BM1818, ETH3, ETH225, BM1824) as recommended by International Society of Animal Genetics (ISAG) for paternity testing in Busha cattle in Serbia. A herd of 47 heads of Busha cattle were sampled for blood. The number of alleles ranged from 6 (ETH10) to 16 (TGLA122), with a mean value of 9.5. Total number of alleles at all 12 analyzed loci was 114. PIC (Polymorphism Information Content) values ranged from 0.513 (in BM1818) to 0.905 (TGLA53). Power of exclusion (PE) for single markers ranged from 0.228 (BM1818) to 0.607 (BM2113) and the power of discrimination (PD) from 0.75 (BM1818) to 0.96 (TGLA227). The combined power of exclusion and discrimination was very high (0.999 and 0.995 respectively) when all 12 markers were used in combination. Cervus software performed 96% successful paternity assignments. These results show that the 12 markers set recommended by ISAG can be used with high confidence for forensic purposes in Busha cattle.

Two microsporidia species of the Nosema genus cause nosemosis in the adult honeybee: N. apis and N. ceranae. For diagnostic purposes and the determination of infection level various microscopic and molecular biological methods are used. Th e aim of this research was to compare the reliability of the traditional microscopic assessment and two PCR techniques: simplex- and duplex-PCR. Honey bee samples were taken from 150 colonies. Microscopic examination, performed according to the recommendations of the OIE, revealed Nosema spores in 68.67% samples analysed, whilst with the simplex-PCR method all samples (100.0%) proved positive. On the other hand, duplex-PCR method used for the identifi cation of Nosema species resulted in 84.0% positive samples, all of which were N. ceranae. Our recommendation of the simplex-PCR method for the monitoring of honey bees in fi eld conditions is based on its higher reliability than the microscopic assessment in the detection of low-level infections, as well as its potential for the detection of vegetative Nosema sp. stages; thus the early detection and timely prevention of Nosema infection would be possible. Nosema species identifi cation is simplest and most cost-eff ective if performed with the duplex-PCR analysis. However, the simplex-PCR is more reliable, thus, it is suggested that samples that were negative when assessed with microscopy and duplex-PCR analysis undergo simplex-PCR.

Grooming behaviour is considered an important defensive mechanism of honey bees against Varroa mites. The aim of this study was to reveal whether grooming behaviour is a useful criterion in breeding of Varroa tolerant bees. To obtain a reliable evaluation the environmental influences were excluded. The degree of grooming potential was estimated by the percentage of damaged mites in the total number of fallen mites. The heritability of grooming behaviour throughout the three consecutive generations of queens was assessed by mother-daughter regression method. Among unselected queens, expressed grooming behaviour was recorded only in colonies with F1 queens (36.27%), but not in colonies with P queens and F2 queens (33.69%, 31.66%, respectively). Significant differences in grooming behaviour were found between colonies of P and F1 queens (p<0.001), and between colonies of P and F2 queens (p<0.05). However, all of the three generations of selected queens showed expressed grooming behaviour (37.99%, 39.42% and 38.58% in Ps, F1s and F2s, respectively) without significant (p>0.05) difference among them. Nevertheless, the relatively low heritability of grooming behaviour in the three generations of queens examined (h2yx=0.49±0.02; h2zx 0.18±0.01; h2zy=0.16±0.01) indicate that breeding colonies for grooming behaviour only cannot be advised to beekeepers whose aim is to breed bees highly tolerant to Varroa mites [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The polymorphism of 11 microsatellite DNA markers (TGLA227, BM2113, TGLA53, ETH10, SPS115, TGLA126, TGLA122, INRA23, ETH3, ETH225, BM1824) was analysed in order to assess the usefulness of these markers for pedigree verification in the Serbian population of Simmental cattle. A total of 86 animals were involved in the study. Genomic DNA was extracted from sperm and blood and amplified in a multiplex PCR using primers from the commercial "StockMarks for Cattle® Bovine Genotyping Kit". Analyses were done with automated DNA sizing technology. A total of 92 alleles were detected. The mean number of alleles (nA) per locus was 8.364, the mean value of polymorphism information content (PIC) was 0.73, and the mean frequency of the most frequent allele (FNA) was 0.372. The most polymorphic microsatellite loci were: TGLA53 (14 alleles, PIC=0.88, FNA=0.235), TGLA227 (11 alleles, PIC=0.82, FNA=0.274), INRA23 (11 alleles, PIC=0.86, FNA=0.167), BM2113 (9 alleles, PIC=0.84, FNA=0.330). Both combined power of discrimination (CPD) and combined power of exclusion (CPE) for the whole set of studied markers were 0.999. In conclusion, the polymorphism of 11 microsatellite DNA markers observed in this study indicate its usefulness for paternity testing and pedigree verification in Simmental cattle from Serbia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A coprological examination of 680 grazing sheep was performed in Eastern Serbia from March 2011 to November 2012 in order to determine the presence of gastrointestinal (GI) nematode parasites. Fecal samples were randomly collected and examined by using qualitative and quantitative coprological techniques. It was found that 74.56% sheep were infected. Samples that contained nematode eggs were processed for larval development and eleven nematode genera were identified: Haemonchus (46.91%), Ostertagia (25.88%), Marshallagia (21.91%), Cooperia (14.12%), Trichostrongylus (39.85%), Nematodirus (35.88%), Bunostomum (23.97%), Strongyloides (17.06%) Oesophagostomum (40.73%), Chabertia (32.79%) and Trichuris (10.88%). Higher prevalence of infection was observed in females (p<0.01), as well as in adults (p<0.001). Regarding the intensity of infection, in 40.63% sheep it was low, in 51.87% moderate and in 7.50% high. There was no difference in intensity of infection considering sex and age of animals. Moreover, simultaneous infection with different number of nematode genera was dependent on sheep's age (p<0.001). These results suggest that GI nematodes are a conspicuous problem of grazing sheep in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]