A research work published in the journal Veterinary Pathology and carried out by staff of the UCO research group “Animal Pathological Anatomy” (UCO-PIG) has received the “Davis-Thompson Foundation Veterinary Pathology Award 2022”, awarded by the foundation Davis-Thompson for the best work published in said journal in 2021. 

The award, which was presented in November at the annual meeting of the American College of Veterinary Pathology in Boston, has valued the content, presentation and significance in the field of veterinary pathology research.

Specifically, the article focuses on the study of melanosis coli, an abnormal darkening of the colon mucosa, in pigs. In these animals, melanosis coli was discovered for the first time in 2015. However, there is currently little knowledge about its causes, so the study allows us to delve deeper into this field. 

Using samples sent from different slaughterhouses in the provinces of Granada and Malaga, the study identified the potential causes of the abnormal dark coloration in the colon of pigs. Specifically, the work identified the pigment lipofuscin as responsible for the dark green color of the intestinal mucosa. Among the causes related to this condition, they detected that the levels of sulfates in the drinking water of the affected animals exceeded the permitted limits. The pigs' metabolism appears to contribute to the appearance of the undesirable coloration, which has a great economic impact for the agri-food sector related to access to export markets.

The work, titled “Melanosis Coli in Pigs Coincides With High Sulfate Content in Drinking Water,” has had the participation of researchers from the UCO-PIG group Irene Magdalena Rodríguez Gómez, Jaime Gómez Laguna, Inés Ruedas Torres, José M. Sánchez Carvajal and Librado Carrasco, who is general director of Research Planning of the Government of Andalusia. Additional authors include Ángel V. Garrido-Medina from the livestock company Piensos Jiménez S. L., and Gabino Roger-García from the Jisap company. The UCO-PIG group is completed by the researcher Francisco José Pallarés Martínez and the predoctoral fellows Fernanda Larenas Muñoz, Carmen Álvarez Delgado and Karola Fristiková.

Headline image: fFrom left to right - Jaime Gómez Laguna, professor at the UCO and co-author of the work, Irene Magdalena Rodríguez Gómez, professor at the UCO and first signatory of the article, Librado Carrasco Otero, current general director of Research Planning of the Board of Andalusia and last signatory of the work, Francisco José Pallarés Martínez, professor at the UCO. Also the predoctoral fellows from the UCO-PIG group Fernanda Larenas Muñoz, Carmen Álvarez Delgado and Karola Fristiková. Finally, Inés Ruedas Torres, postdoctoral fellow of the UCO-PIG group and co-author of the article.