Efficacy of some Egyptian native plant extracts against Haemonchus contortus in vitro and in experimentally infected sheep along with the associated haematological and biochemical alterations

Abstract

Background Haemonchosis is a serious disease affecting ruminants’ productivity worldwide. Medicinal plants are deemed one of the most natural bio-products safely used as alternatives to the synthetic anthelmintics. In the present study, comparative efficacy of crude ethanolic extracts (CEEs) of Artemisia herba-alba (A. herba-alba), Balanites aegyptiaca (B. aegyptiaca) and Allium sativum (A. sativum) as alternative treatments was tested on Haemonchus contortus ( H. contortus). An in vitro test to evaluate the anthelmintic efficacy of various concentrations of extracts at 25, 30 and 50 mg/ml was accomplished on motility and viability of adult worms in comparison with albendazole, reference drug at 10 μg/ml at various time intervals. An in vivo test was carried out in lambs experimentally infected with H. contortus to detect anthelmintic activity of CEEs of A. herba-alba and B. aegyptiaca compared to albendazole. Fifteen parasite-free Baladi Egyptian lambs aged 4–8 months old were categorized into five groups, each of three lambs as follows: G1 was kept as uninfected untreated one, G2 was utilized as infected untreated group, G3 was given CEE of A. herba-alba, G4 was received CEE of B. aegyptiaca, and G 5 was treated with albendazole. Results The in vitro test revealed that CEE of B. aegyptiaca had the most significant anthelmintic activity on adult H. contortus followed by A. herba-alba, while A. sativum was of the lowest effect. The in vivo test showed that the CEE of B. aegyptiaca achieved an excellent faecal egg reduction (100%) at the 7th day post-treatment. The most efficient treatments that improved the haematological parameters and regained the level of serum total protein, albumin and A/G ratio, serum globulin, SGoT, SGPT, urea and creatinine to the almost normal levels were CEE of B. aegyptiaca, albendazole and CEE of A. herba-alba, respectively. Conclusions This study highlighted the marked anthelmintic potency of the CEEs of B. aegyptiaca and A. herba-alba on H. contortus and the superiority of CEE of B. aegyptiaca as a talented anti-parasitic medicinal plant for sheep.

Nematicidal Activity of Inorganic Food Additives

“…The fight against pathogens of infectious and parasitic diseases that inflict great economic losses on agricultural and livestock farms is underway all around the globe [20,40]. At the same time, agriculture is losing large amounts of meat and dairy products [25,41,42]. There are numerous publications on the use of chemically synthesized substances, nematicides and anthelmintic drugs, which have been accumulating in soil, water bodies and also tissues of living organisms [43,44].…”

“…As a means of fighting this parasite, copper oxide (2 g of copper oxide in gel capsules per one goat or sheep) has begun to be introduced, but it often does not kill helminths, and only decreases the number of eggs (by 82.5% for sheep and 80.5% for goats) which are discharged into the environment [23]. The search for alternative anti-haemonchosis drugs may be very practically significant [24,25].…”

Intensity of Gastrointestinal Parasites and the Associated Risk Factors and Sero-Prevalence of Hemonchosis, among Camels in Egypt

“…Fecal culture was carried out for each positive strongyles fecal samples to detect Haemonchus sp. larvae as described by Hassan et al (2021). Shortly, the fecal samples were used to make fecal culture by adding sand, saw wood, and a few drops of tap water then covered with perforated aluminum foils to maintain air entrance.…”

“…Among gastrointestinal parasitic infections, hemonchosis caused by Haemonchus sp. is considered the most prevalent and pathogenic with a major economic loss among camels (Fadhil et al 2018;Hassan et al 2021). It is the blood-sucking abomasal nematode causing anemia, gastrointestinal disturbance, and mortalities in heavy infection of young animals (Soulsby 1968;Hassan et al 2021;Arsenopoulos et al 2021).…”

“…is considered the most prevalent and pathogenic with a major economic loss among camels (Fadhil et al 2018;Hassan et al 2021). It is the blood-sucking abomasal nematode causing anemia, gastrointestinal disturbance, and mortalities in heavy infection of young animals (Soulsby 1968;Hassan et al 2021;Arsenopoulos et al 2021). The most widespread species detected in camels' abomasa are Haemonchus longistipes and Haemonchus contortus (Brasil et al 2012;Hussain et al 2014).…”