Uses and applications of ozonized oils in Veterinary Medicine

In Oncological Disease

Data from 2016^[i] has shown that the application of Ozone Therapy in 4 canine cancer patients (lymphosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, adenocarcinoma, and osteosarcoma) has the potential to improve quality of life and survival in concomitance with conventional treatments.
The application of the therapy was performed rectally, through autohemotherapy and local infiltration, and it was observed that Ozone Therapy was very important in improving the quality of life (after 4 years of treatment, 2 of the animals were alive and without signs of oncological disease; 1 of them died of natural death; and the 11-year-old patient diagnosed with thyroid follicular adenocarcinoma survived for 7 months – without chemotherapy – and continuosly showed to have good quality of life, as well as a reduction in tumour size to 1/5 of the initial).
This study concludes that the use of ozone therapy as an adjunct/concomitant to conventional treatments should be a common practice in veterinary oncology, with promising results.

Musculoskeletal Pathology

Pain, itching, muscle weakness, decreased activity, amongst other issues, are a constant in veterinary medicine. Conventional treatments are based on the use of anti-inflammatory drugs, analgesics, or surgery that try to alleviate signs and symptoms, or then creating a merely palliative regimen to address these conditions, and give rise to several side effects that limit their use.
Data has been collected from 2013^[ii] to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects in canids undergoing treatment with Ozone Therapy, plus growth factors derived from the ozonated platelets.
Two groups of animals were used, one diagnosed with osteoarthritis and the other presenting pain. After being treated with Ozone and plasma rich in growth factors (group 1) or with Ozone therapy (group 2), there was a significant improvement in both groups in just 24 hours (85% in group 1 and 50% in group 2).
Pain relief after the use of Ozone Therapy was observed in patients with lower back, cervical,and herniated discs without any significant adverse effects. The oxygenating and immunomodulatory effects of this therapy through activation of antioxidant mechanisms have also been well documented, clearly concluding that Ozone Therapy manifests itself through a recognised prolonged anti-inflammatory effect and a low level of toxicity.

[i] La Ozonoterapia como tratamiento coadyuvante en oncología veterinaria. Casos clínicos. Revista Española de Ozonoterapia. Vol. 6, nº 1, pp 223-229

[ii] Utilización del ozono y factores de crecimiento ozonizados en patologías musculoesqueléticas en la especie canina. Revista Española de Ozonoterapia. Vol. 3, nº 1, pp. 91-94.

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Uses and applications of ozonized oils in veterinary medicine

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Ozone Therapy has been used as adjunctive or routine treatment in cases where conventional treatment is unable to achieve the expected results, thus proving the effectiveness of ozone therapy in the treatment of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains.
Several clinical studies verify the effectiveness of this therapy in the prevention and treatment of infections in orthopedics and traumatology, especially in the treatment of chronic wounds, soft tissue ulcers, and/or infections of anaerobic microbiota.
In post-traumatic wounds, ozone is usually used externally in the form of ozonated water and/or oils, creams, or ointments with oxygen mixtures.
To date, there are indications that, when administered in specific concentrations, its antibacterial and antifungal action is obtained after 30 seconds of exposure and highly effective durability in about 4 minutes[i].
When topical use is combined with autohemotherapy, ozone is absorbed into the bloodstream and breaks down almost immediately, forming reactive species of active oxygen and lipid oxidation products that act on the endothelium, causing vasodilation and the release of growth factors that directly affect wound healing, being able to completely recover tissue damage in just 15 days, even when conventional treatment has not been successful[ii].

Ozonated Olive Oil – Oils and Creams

Ozonated olive oil is the form that arouses the most interest in research and clinical practice[iii], having been successfully utilized in various skin infections (burns, wounds of diverse etiologies, abscesses, up to and including radiotherapy wounds[iv]). This technique of ozonation in olive oil prolongs the effect of the ozone, has a significant impact on accelerating healing processes and interrupts septic processes[v] as it has been observed that topical application of these oils improves oxygenation of damaged tissues, normalizes pH, accelerates edema resorption and inhibits bleeding[vi].
The use of ozone creams in topical wound application has been shown to significantly and positively affect the healing of second-degree burns within a few weeks, accelerating the cleansing of the affected areas, whether it be in burns or in necrotic tissues, and without the need for enzymatic preparations; achieving pain reduction, improving peripheral circulation and microcirculation; accelerating the re-epithelialization of the wound area; and promoting formation of granulation tissue. All this is due to ozone being able to activate fibroblasts and keratinocytes at the same time that it stimulates the production collagen and intracellular matrix[vii].

In truth, the application in veterinary medicine has already been successfully performed in the treatment of skin diseases, otitis, fistulas, and infections in post-traumatic or difficult-to-treat wounds, having shown that the therapy increases the collagen content in wounds whilst stimulating the production of cytokines and IL-8, which in turn accelerate the healing process[viii], furthermore, the daily application of ozonated oil to guinea pig wounds accelerated epithelialization, inflammatory cell infiltration, and increased wound angiogenesis. In histological preparations of the dermis, an increase in the synthesis of fibroblasts, proliferation of collagen fibers, expression of growth factors VEGF, TGF-beta, and PDGF is observed within just 7 days after exposure to ozonated oil, hence demonstrating its potential as an alternative therapeutic method to support wound healing.

Ozonated Sunflower Seed Oil

In a 2015 study[ix] that evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of ozonated sunflower oil on Malassezia pachydermatis positive dermatitis and otitis cases in dogs and cats, subjects were divided into 2 groups and treated with topical and auricular treatments, respectively. The results were observed after 15 days, with an improvement of 80% in otitis and 84% in dermatitis.
In the 25 cases of otitis improvement of clinical signs and symptoms was observed – pruritus, erythema, inflammation, exudate, seborrhea, odor, and papules – at 48% (12 cases) after 5 days, 60% in 10 days (15 cases), and 84% after just 15 days of treatment (21 cases). Regarding diagnostic tests – with observation of average yeast content in the field – it was found that there were fewer than 10 microorganisms in about 40% (10 cases) after 5 days, 72% (18 cases) after 10 days and 92% (23 cases) after 15 days.
Regarding dermatitis (which included 14 of general dermatitis, 5 of lip fold dermatitis, 5 of interdigital dermatitis and 1 of perianal dermatitis) the improvements in the observed clinical signs and symptoms – pruritus, erythema, exudate, seborrhoea, odour, papules and alopecia – were 40% (13 cases) in 5 days, 56% in 10 days (14 cases) and 80% after only 15 days of treatment (20 cases). With regard to diagnostic scans – average content of the yeast in the field – it was ascertained that there were fewer than 10 micro-organisms in around 52% (13 cases) after 5 days, 80% (20 cases) after 10 days and 88% (22 cases) after 15 days.
This study thus demonstrates the therapeutic efficacy (and safety) of ozonated oil in the treatment of dermatitis and otitis caused by Malassezia pachydermatis in dogs and cats.

Figure 1 – Representative photograph of the evolution of different cases of otitis and dermatitis

Combination of Ozone Therapy – Ozone Bagging, Topical and Systemic Ozone Oils

Wounds to the skin, subcutaneous tissue, and underlying muscles are the most commonly injured tissues seen in clinical practice in veterinary medicine and usually result from multiple trauma due to car accidents or attacks by other animals.
These wounds require rapid treatment for debridement, disinfection, and healing.
Data collected since 2018[x], indicates that the use of various Ozone therapy techniques (ozone bagging, topical application of ozonated oils, intrarectal and minor autohemotherapy) as a complement to conventional wound treatment in canids, led to rapid healing, disinfection in about 2 to 7 days, reduction of the affected area by 40 to 50% in 15 to 30 days and complete healing in 48 to 60 days.
Ozone therapy is, therefore, a safe and effective way that promotes rapid tissue (and patient) recovery and should be used as an adjunctive therapy in the treatment of wounds regardless of etiology.

Figure 2 – Representative photograph of the evolution of different cases of otitis and dermatitis

[i] Antimicrobial activity of ozonated water. Med Sci Monit. 2010 Sep;16(9):MT71-5.

[ii] Adjuvant combined ozone therapy for extensive wound over tibia. Indian J Orthop. 2011 Jul;45(4):376-9. doi: 10.4103/0019-5413.80332.

[iii] Wykorzystanie ozonu w leczeniu ludzi i zwierząt. Med. Weter. 2019, 75 (1), 24-29. doi: dx.doi.org/10.21521/mw.5974

Mechanisms of Action Involved in Ozone Therapy: Is healing induced via a mild oxidative stress? Med Gas Res. 2011 Dec 20;1:29. doi: 10.1186/2045-9912-1-29.

[iv] The dual action of ozone on the skin. Br J Dermatol. 2005 Dec;153(6):1096-100.

[v] [Usefulness of ozone therapy in the treatment of post-traumatic and chronic pathologies within motor organs]. Ortop. Traumat. Rehabil. 2000, 2, 104-108.

Effect of Ozone Olive Oil Ointment Dressing Technique on the Healing of Superficial and Deep Diabetic Foot Ulcers. Journal of American Science 2013;9(11)

[vi] [The use of ozone vegetable oils in prevention and therapy] Wydawnictwo naukowe TYGIEL, Lublin 2017, s. 61-78.

Ozone and its usage in general medicine and dentistry. A review article. Prague Med Rep. 2008;109(1):5-13.

[vii] Ozone therapy in traumatology and burns treatment. Revista Española de Ozonoterapia vol. 3, nº 1. pp. 75-89, 2013. ISSN: 2174-3215

Ozone and Ozonated Oils in Skin Diseases: A Review. Mediators of Inflammation. Volume 2010. Article ID 610418. https://doi.org/10.1155/2010/610418

[viii] Therapeutic Effects of Topical Application of Ozone on Acute Cutaneous Wound Healing. J Korean Med Sci. 2009 Jun;24(3):368-74. doi: 10.3346/jkms.2009.24.3.368.

Ozonated oil uses in topical treatment of tick infestation in dog – Case report. Brazilian Journal of Veterinary Medicine. 36. 405-408.

[ix] Eficacia terapéutica del aceite de girasol ozonizado frente a la infección por Malassezia pachydermatis en perros y gatos. Revista Española de Ozonoterapia, ISSN-e 2174-3215, Vol. 5, Nº. 1, 2015, págs. 55-74

[x] Efecto terapéutico de la Ozonoterapia en la cicatrización de heridas en perros: Reporte de casos. Revista Española de Ozonoterapia. Vol. 8, nº 1, pp 197-210