Anthelmintic activity of Sesbania grandiflora against gastrointestinal nematodes of sheep

The study was carried out to validate the anthelmintic efficacy of Sesbania grandiflora and to standardize the effective dose of the plant extract required for worm control in livestock. In vitro and in vivo studies were conducted to determine the direct anthelmintic effect of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of S. grandiflora towards mixed ovine gastrointestinal nematodes. Egg hatch assay for ovicidal and larval migration inhibition and larval development assay for larvicidal properties were used to investigate in vitro effect of extracts on strongyle egg and larvae. Faecal egg count reduction test was conducted in vivo to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of the extacts administered orally @ 125, 250, 500 mg/kg to sheep naturally infected with mixed gastrointestinal nematodes. Aqueous extract of S. grandiflora demonstrated significant inhibition of egg hatch and larval migration @ 40 and 80 mg/ml. The ED50 value of egg hatch inhibition and LM50 value for larval migration inhibition were 1.489 and 0.683 mg/ml respectively. In faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT), aqueous extract of S. grandiflora at 500 mg/kg caused significant reduction in eggs per gram (98.10 %) higher than the result obtained with albendazole (93.25 %). Although there were slight variations in the haematological parameters (PCV, haemoglobin, RBC and WBC) in all the groups between day 0 and 12, all the parameters were within the normal range reported for sheep. Except for blood urea nitrogen, overall mean of all the serum biochemical profile was within the normal range for sheep. Based on the results obtained by in vitro and in vivo assay, the aqueous extract of S. grandiflora possess anthelmintic activity and could offer an alternative source for the control of gastrointestinal nematodes of sheep.