The anthelmintic efficacy of five plant products against gastrointestinal trichostrongylids in artificially infected lambs

Summary

Forty-eight helminth-free lambs were divided into eight groups (A–H) of six animals. Groups A–G were infected artificially with 10 000 third stage larvae of Haemonchus contortus and 20 000 third stage larvae of Trichostrongylus colubriformis, whereas group H remained uninfected. Thirty days post-infection the lambs were treated orally with a single dosage several products. Only the ethanol extract of F. parviflora caused a strong reduction of the faecal egg counts (100%) and a 78.2 and 88.8% reduction of adult H. contortus and T. colubriformis on day 13 post-treatment. The extract was as effective as the reference compound pyrantel tartrate. Therefore, the ethanol extract itself or single constituents of F. parviflora could be a promising alternative source of anthelmintic for the treatment of gastrointestinal trichostrongylids in small ruminants.