| Summary: | The thesis evaluates the potential of traditional herbal medicines as an alternative to prophylactic antibiotic use in livestock. Two areas are explored 1) The immunomodulatory potential of medicinal herbs 2) The antimicrobial potential of medicinal herbs. The thesis identifies the importance of the Malvacea family and its potential in stimulating the TH1 mediated immune system, which has previously been shown to be suppressed in livestock due to abiotic and biotic stress factors. Additionally a preliminary screen identified the potential of plants exhibiting antimicrobial activity. The ability of these plants in preventing infectious disease livestock was also explored using an in vivo galleria larvae model. Chapter 5 and 6 focus to two plants traditionally used to treat infectious disease Terminalia chebula and Phyllanthus amarus, consequently identifying two compounds, namely corilagin and chebulagic acid which are based upon the hexahydroxydiphenoyl scaffhold. The isolated compounds exhibited antimicrobial activity against a range of Gram negative and positive bacteria including a number of methicillin and gentamicin resistant strains of S. aureus.
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