Activated charcoal could be good therapy for “co-grazers,” or horses on the same pastures as clinically ill horses. They might have ingested the same seeds and toxins, but they’re not yet showing clinical signs. | Photo: iStock

Activated (oxygenated) charcoal sent through a nasal tube into affected horses’ stomachs might help stop the intoxication process that leads to death, researchers have learned. By “binding” hypoglycin A, the toxic amino acid found in certain sycamore and box elder tree seeds in the U.K. and other parts of Europe, the charcoal prevents it from entering into the horse’s system, essentially neutralizing it.

“Our study showed for the first time that the toxic amino acid can be bound to activated charcoal,” said Jessika-Maximiliane Cavalleri, DrMedVet, PhD, Dipl. ECEIM, head of Equine Internal Medicine at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna (Vetmeduni Vienna) Equine University Clinic, in Austria.

This finding could help veterinarians react in a goal-oriented manner early in the disease course,” Cavalleri said. “By using activated charcoal to hinder toxin absorption horses might not develop the severe signs if given early enough,” she said