Alexandria (Alex) Speak knew at a young age she would be interested in pursuing a career in equine science.

"Growing up, I rode ponies, then quarter horses. I enjoyed barrel racing and pole bending, so we always had four to six horses. This spurred my passion to become an equine veterinarian. From age five, I designed my own vet clinics in my journals. When it was time for college, I knew I wanted to be a vet, and attend a university for my undergraduate that had a vet school," Speak said.

The senior animal and dairy science pre-veterinary/science major learned about Mississippi State's Early-Entry Veterinary Program at veterinary camp. She was accepted into the program, securing her spot in the 2028 College of Veterinary Medicine Class.

To prepare her for the rigors of vet school, the Arkansas Delta native sought out an Undergraduate Research Scholars project under the direction of Dr. Clay Cavinder, professor in animal and dairy sciences and MSU Extension equine specialist.

"I grew up learning about the clinical side of veterinary medicine. Coming into college, I was familiar with research as a concept but had never conducted it firsthand," she said.

She is studying the effects of melatonin on biochemical markers in horses after exercise.

"After exercise, oxidative stress and associated inflammatory responses can cause muscle damage, fatigue, and injury. Melatonin, normally thought of as a sleep hormone, is also an antioxidant, so we investigated if melatonin would lower oxidative stress by working as an antioxidant, and then, in turn, reduce inflammation. We studied Serum Amyloid A (SAA), an inflammatory marker and acute phase protein that spikes immediately after a stressor," she explained.

Speak said they found a significant difference in SAA concentration on eight of the 12 exercise days and that SAA was significantly lowered at 30 and 90 minutes after exercise on those same days.

"The decrease in SAA indicates lower levels of inflammation in treated horses after exercise and may indicate a protective response of melatonin to oxidative stress," Speak said.

She is continuing the research throughout the rest of her senior year.

"This year we're studying two muscle damage markers, creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase, and running enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits to see if we see a difference in those markers," she said.

Speak said the assay technique has a target-specific antibody pre-coated on the plate, so upon preparation of the plasma samples and addition to the wells, the target marker binds to the immobilized antibody. A detector is added which produces a signal, in this case a change in color, and the intensity of the color change is proportional to the concentration of the marker in the original sample.

"If we do see a reduction in those markers, that could indicate that the melatonin is helping with muscle damage, too," she said.

Speak presented her research at the MSU Undergraduate Research Spring Symposium and the Equine Science Society's Symposium. The project has ignited her interest in research.

"The research has shown me how rapid developments for common problems are being discovered. Growing up in the equine industry, I remember horses that had to quit performing because of lameness or fatigue due to the intensity and increased exercise, which led to physiological stress and inflammation. Horse owners are always looking for supplements to help mitigate these issues. It's impactful to be part of research that may lead to the utilization of melatonin for inflammation," she said.

This research is funded by the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.