Biological control of goat gastrointestinal helminthiasis by Duddingtonia flagrans in a semi-arid region of the northeastern Brazil

Abstract

The aim of this study was to test a pellet formulation in a sodium alginate matrix of Duddingtonia flagrans in the biological control of goat gastrointestinal helminths kept in a native pasture in a semi-arid region of Paraíba state, northeastern Brazil. An area of 2.4 ha was divided into three paddocks, where groups of seven goats ware formed. Each group received the following treatments during the months of March to August 2011: D. flagrans group, received 3g of pellets containing D. flagrans (AC001) for each 10 kg/l.w., twice a week; Moxidectin 0.2% group, received 0.2mg/kg of Moxidectin 0.2% orally, every 30 days; Control group, received 3g of pellets without fungi per 10 kg/l.w., twice a week. Each month, a tracer goat was placed in each group for 30 days and then sacrificed and necropsied. The D. flagrans group showed a greater reduction in EPG, increased weight gain, higher rates of packed cell volume and lower parasitic load burden in the tracer goats compared to Moxidectin 0.2% and Control groups. D. flagrans was efficient in controlling goat gastrointestinal helminthiasis in a semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil.

Control of sheep gastrointestinal nematodes using the combination of Duddingtonia flagrans and Levamisole Hydrochloride 5%

“…Vilela et al (2012a) There was no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) in the weights of the animals in the different groups. Chandrawathani et al (2004) observed that the sheep greater weight gain in Malaysia occurred in the group receiving D. flagrans.…”

Biological Control of Parasites

“…[60]. The nematodetrapping fungi, Duddingtonia flagrans, which have demonstrated considerable superiority in the reduction of gastrointestinal nematodes parasitizing animals, produce thick-walled clamydospores that enable it to survive the passage through the gastrointestinal tract and is therefore effective in destroying the larval stages of parasitic nematodes in livestock [61,62]. Feeding or field trials have clearly demonstrated that dosing with a few hundred thousand spores per kilogram of live birth weight (BW) of D. flagrans not only reduced the number of infective larvae but also increased the BW of the lambs compared with controls [63].…”

Uso de hongos hematófagos en el control biológico de nematodos gastrointestinales en ovinos

“…Algunos de los géneros más importantes dentro de este grupo son Arthrobotrys, Dactylaria, Dactylella y Monacrosporium (Chandrawathani et al, 1999;Ribeiro Vilela et al, 2012). A través de mecanismos como la producción de un material adhesivo sobre las hifas y la formación de complejos anillos constrictores, los hongos depredadores son capaces de atrapar y consumir los estadios larvarios de los nematodos presentes en las heces y en el suelo .…”