Green Veterinary Pharmacology Applied to Parasite Control: Evaluation of <i>Punica granatum</i>, <i>Artemisia campestris</i>, <i>Salix caprea</i> Aqueous Macerates against Gastrointestinal Nematodes of Sheep
2021
Fabio Castagna | Cristian Piras | Ernesto Palma | Vincenzo Musolino | Carmine Lupia | Antonio Bosco | Laura Rinaldi | Giuseppe Cringoli | Vincenzo Musella | Domenico Britti
Resistance to anthelmintic drugs in gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) of sheep is of high concern for livestock production worldwide. In Calabria (southern Italy), many plants have been used in ethnoveterinary medicine for parasite control in small ruminants. Here, we present an in vivo evaluation of anthelmintic efficacy of three plant extracts. The first was based on bark and leaves of <i>Salix caprea</i>, the second and the third were based on the whole plant <i>Artemisia campestris</i> and whole fruit (seeds and peel) of <i>Punica granatum</i>, respectively. Anthelmintic efficacy was evaluated according to the fecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) performed with the FLOTAC technique. The results showed a significant anthelmintic effect of <i>Punica granatum</i> macerate (50%), a low effectiveness of the <i>Artemisia campestris</i> macerate (20%), and a complete ineffectiveness of <i>Salix caprea</i> macerate (0.1%). With these outcomes, we report a <i>P. granatum</i>-based remedy reducing 50% GIN egg output. This result was obtained without using any synthetic drug, paving the way for the employment of green veterinary pharmacology (GVP) as a complementary and sustainable method to reduce the use of chemicals and to counteract anthelmintic resistance.
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