Green Veterinary Pharmacology Applied to Parasite Control: Evaluation of Punica granatum, Artemisia campestris, Salix caprea Aqueous Macerates against Gastrointestinal Nematodes of Sheep

Abstract

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 Salix caprea, the second and the third were based on the whole plant Artemisia campestris and whole fruit (seeds and peel) of Punica granatum, 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 Punica granatum macerate (50%), a low effectiveness of the Artemisia campestris macerate (20%), and a complete ineffectiveness of Salix caprea macerate (0.1%). With these outcomes, we report a P. granatum-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.

Green Veterinary Pharmacology for Honey Bee Welfare and Health: Origanum heracleoticum L. (Lamiaceae) Essential Oil for the Control of the Apis mellifera Varroatosis

“…Therefore, it is important to investigate in field tests the most effective methods of administration, which can ensure a lasting persistence of the active ingredient, with a gradual release over time. In conclusion, this study is part of the green veterinary pharmacology [ 70 ], a branch of the pharmaceutical veterinary that, nowadays, must be implemented to reduce the phenomena of drug resistance and the persistence of residues in the environment. The advantages on animal welfare and health are indisputable, also linked to the consequent reduction of the transmission of bacteria and viruses, such as deformed wing virus (DWV) and slow bee paralysis virus (SBPV) by V. destructor mite to honey bees [ 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 ].…”

The Use of Essential Oils Against Sheep Gastrointestinal Nematodes

“…60.11% in Vojvodina, lowland landscape (Pavlović et al 2017) (Bosco et al 2020). The control of sheep GINs is currently nearly exclusively reliant on commercial anthelmintic drugs (Bosco et al 2020, Castagna et al 2021). These include benzimidazoles (eg.…”

“…Among the proposed alternative strategies for the control of sheep GINs, phytotherapy is considered particularly promising. Phytotherapy is defined as the use of plants to treat ailments, which as a healthcare practice is recorded since ancient times and transferred from generation to generation (Borges and Borges 2016;Castagna et al 2021). In veterinary medicine, there is an increasing interest in validating ethnoveterinary practices, judging by the high number of studies and articles on the topic (Eshetu et al 2015).…”

“…aqueous and ethanol) and essential oils may be used. Within this context, plant based antiparasitic preparations may provide successful alternative remedies to synthetic drugs and be used in ethnoveterinary practices against sheep GINs (Castagna et al 2021).…”

Local immune response of Canarian Majorera goats infected with Teladorsagia circumcincta

“…At present, control of these parasitic infections in ruminants relies heavily on treatments with anthelmintic drugs. However, the emergence of parasite resistance to these products [ 3 ], as well as consumer concerns about the presence of chemical residues in meat and milk, have stimulated research towards the development of new control strategies [ 4 ], as those based on natural products as an alternative to synthetic anthelmintic drugs [ 5 ].…”