MONENSIN SODIUM

Contents:

Not less than 800 µg/mg

Packing:

25 kg in a fiber drum.

Re-test period:

Two (2) years from the date of manufacture.

Storage:

In the original packing, well closed, in dry and well-ventilated facilities, protected from direct sunlight at temperature between 15° and 25°C.

Pharmacological action:

Monensin is a polyether antibiotic of the ionophore group. It exerts an anticoccidial action against Eimeria tenella, E. acervulina, E. mivati, E. brunetti, E. maxima, E. necatrix in chickens, affecting the trophozoites in the first stage of schizogony. Its action is connected with the formation of lipophilic complexes with monovalent ions (sodium and potassium), making the membranes of the coccidial cells permeable to the ions mentioned; hence the active sodium and potassium transport is disturbed. Sodium and chloride are accumulated into the cells of the parasites, drawing water into the sporosoites, causing their swelling and rupture. It hinders the maturing of the schizonts and the development of merozoites. An additional influence is the impeded transport of carbohydrate and the active sporozoite glycolysis provoked by monensin. When orally administered to ruminants (with developed forestomachs), monensin modifies ruminal metabolism, directing it predominantly to the formation of the energetically richer propionic acid (at the expense of the other volatile fatty acids – acetic acid, lactic acid), and to inhibition of protein degradation in the rumen as a result of which feed conversion efficiency is improved and the weight gain is increased. Monensin suppresses also the formation of methane genesis of the ruminants and inhibits its eructation out of the forestomachs which spares energy losses.

Applied at the recommended dosage levels in fowls, monensin is practically not absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract and is not deposited in muscles and internal organs. Nevertheless, a withdrawal period of 3 days is recommended for slaughter of treated chickens for human consumption. The therapeutic range of the antibiotic is narrow; therefore it must be applied at the accurate dosage levels and for the appropriate use. More susceptible poultry species are guinea hens, turkeys (above 16 week of age) and swimming fowls. Horses and donkeys are extremely susceptible to monensin.