SUSTAINED-RELEASE DOSAGE FORMS IN VETERIN ARY-MEDICINE - RETICULORUMEN RETENTION DEVICES

More intensive methods of animal husbandry have revealed the necessity of avoiding repeated administration of medication to animals which ar e difficult to handle and of developing controlled and sustained relea se dosage forms. The physiological characteristics of the digestive tr act of ruminants provide a unique opportunity for controlled release t echnology, especially die to the animal's reticulo-rumen retention abi lity. The major areas of application of these controlled and sustained release dosage forms include the delivery of antibiotic and antiparas itic agents, trace nutrients and growth promoting agents. This review describes the potential applications of controlled and sustained relea se technology in veterinary medicine and the various reticulo-rumen re tention devices which are patented, marketed or described in the liter ature.