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The therapeutic effects of Argentine propolis ear drop formulation on canine otitis externa were evaluated. Forty-eight dogs with symptoms of otitis externa were randomly assigned to double-blinded, controlled clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of topical formulation with propolis versus a topical placebo in the treatment of otitis externa. The propolis preparation and placebo were administrated into both external ear canals, twice daily for 14 days. Throughout the study, clinical examination and microbiological analysis of dogs ear exudates were made. The most frequent microorganisms isolated in culture media were: Malassezia pachydermatis (54.2%), Staphylococcus aureus (43.8%), coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (25.0%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (20.8%), Candida albicans (18.8%), Proteus mirabilis (16.7%), Streptococcus spp. (16.7%), Enteroccocus faecalis (12.5%), Escherichia coli (12.5%), Staphylococcus intermedius (6.3%), Klebsiella spp. (4.2%), andCandida glabrata (2.1%). Whereas the control group did not recover from the infectious ear disease, the propolis preparation exhibited antimicrobial activity against most of the microorganisms isolated from samples of the treated group. In addition, no propolis-adverse effects were observed. This allowed propolis-treated patients to show a significant improvement of the clinical parameters. Thus, this new Argentine propolis ear drop formulation may be used for topical treatment of otitis externa in dogs.

Autochthonous microorganisms as probiotics are a novel alternative to antibiotics. The genus Bacillus is highly used by its ability to survive on adverse conditions. Piaractus mesopotamicus, a native fish, is the most produced specie in Argentinian aquaculture. The low level of knowledge, high stress conditions and demand of animals led to a deficit in the number of larvae and fry. The aim of this study was to evaluate the probiotic effect of previously selected autochthonous Bacillus on biometrical parameters of P. mesopotamicus larvae when administered together in a combined suspension in different doses and stages. Results showed that the bacterial administration did not cause significant effects on the variables evaluated. However, the dose containing 6 × 107 CFU L-1 of each strain showed the highest average values of P. mesopotamicus biological parameters, regardless the stage of administration. Histological evaluations of animals administered with this dose did not showed adverse effects and indicated the capability of this dose, administered in a particularly period of time, to stimulate the early appearance of gastric glands, vestiges of what would be the pylorus and a higher development of liver. Thus, we proposed the safe use of this dose in a combined probiotic mixture to be studied in further assays.

Probiotics are a novel alternative to antibiotics as growth factors. Previously, our group isolated, selected and tested in vivo, eight autochthonous strains. They showed no significant effects when administered individually. However, the best doses, stages and ways of administration were combined in a multi strain formula. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of this probiotic product on the growth and survival of Piaractus mesopotamicus larvae. The administration was implemented during egg incubation and endogenous feeding period (5), during larvae exogenous feeding period (10) and all along the experiment (15). A group without microorganisms was used as control. The probiotic generates significant increments of mean weight and not significant increases of survival and biomass in two of the three tested stages. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of an autochthonous probiotic formula for the culture of this native fish species.

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