The objective of this work was to study the effectiveness of salinomycin against the lactic acidosis induced in sheep, by analyzing its effects on the clinical situation, and the physico-chemical characteristics of the ruminal fluid. We used 14 crossbred Santa Ines sheep, weighing 30 Kg. They were rumen-fistulated and subdivided into two groups of 7 animals each: the control group and the group that received the drug in the diet at a concentration of 30 mg/Kg of food for 42 days. We established the clinical and laboratory values of the ruminal samples during this phase of the experiment. At the end of the adaptation period, both groups were challenged in a process of sucrose-induced lactic acidosis, at a dose of 10 g/Kg body weight. The clinical and laboratory observations were accomplished at intervals of 4h, 8h, 12h, 16h, 24h, 32h e 48h post-induction (PI). Control and treated sheep showed clinical signs of ruminal acidosis within eight hours after induction, associated with laboratory alterations with varied intensity between the studied groups. In the animals that received salinomycin, the magnitude of the process was minimized and the time of clinical recovery was shortened in relation to the control group.
fermentation disorder; ionophores; small ruminants