Alternative à la chimiothérapie dans la maîtrise du parasitisme digestif des petits ruminants: Rôle des tanins condensés

Summary

Recent results have shown that tanniferous plants might represent an alternative option to chemical drugs to control parasitic nematodes of the gastrointestinal tract in small ruminants since some anthelmintic activity has been associated with the consumption of the plants.
The 2 main objectives of the project are :
1 to understand the mechanisms explaining the activity of tannin rich plants against nematode parasites of sheep and goats
2 to identify novel natural resources to exploit for non chemical control of parasite
in various farming systems, including organic farming. In particular, the project focus on potential industrial agroressources
In vitro and in vivo assays on parasites and on infected animals to measure the anthelmintic effects, methods of histology and electron microscopy to examine the lesions induced by tannin to the worms, and biochemical analysis of plant extracts or industrial agroressources have been used.
The project is still in progress.
However, the current results indicate that :
- condensed tannins interfere both with the main function and structure of third stage larvae
- some industrial resources for tannins have been identified