Mycobacterium Avium, Devil’s Club and a Miniature Schnauzer
Answered by: Kerry Hackett
Question from: Sheilah R. Sable
Posted on: August 01, 2007

My 2.5 year old mini schnauzer is infected with Mycobacterium Avium (apparently somewhat common in this breed, in that there is a defect in the immune system being bred throughout the world). I’ve had him on a difficult regime of anitbiotics, which were making him ill (liver and kidney did not respond well to the power in those drugs). I recently read about Devil’s Club having a cure effect on Mycobacterium Avium, and am wondering about how to administer it to my pet. He is currently under a nutritionist care, as well as the care of a holistic vet and a traditional vet.

I haven’t run into this information regarding Devil’s Club (Opplopanax horridum) and mycobacterium avium, so found your post quite interesting, thank you. There is not alot of literature available on the use of this herb in animals so I will cobble together what might be a recommended dose. Please run this information past your holistic veterinarian before you proceed. In humans, a tincture of the dried root is made in the proportion of 1:5 in 60% alcohol and is dosed anywhere from 15 to forty drops three times a day or a tea of one teaspoon root bark to 250 ml water and steep one hour; drink 125 ml three times a day. In animals, the closest reference I could find was dosing for Eleuthercoccus senticosus (Siberian Ginseng) as this herb and Devil’s Club have a few similar properties. Dosing for a small animal with Eleuthero is listed as: a tincture of 1:2 or 1:3 in 25 to 35% alcohol at 0.5 to 2.0 ml per 10 kg of animal, with the dose divided into three portions per day. If you use a tincture, it is important to evaporate the alcohol component as much as possible by putting the dose in a amount of boiling water and let the evaporation carry away much of the alcohol. If you would prefer to make a tea, put 5 to 30 g of dried root in a cup of water and dose at one quater to one half a cup per 10 kg of animal, dividing this dose into three portions per day. As you are dealing with a very small dog, start at the bottom end of all these doing recommendations.

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