Individual administration of three tanniferous forage plants to lambs artificially infected with Haemonchus contortus and Cooperia curticei

• Published in: Veterinary parasitology Vol. 146; no. 1; pp. 123 - 134
• Main Authors: Heckendorn, Felix, Häring, Dieter Adrian, Maurer, Veronika, Senn, Markus, Hertzberg, Hubertus
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 15-05-2007
• Subjects: Animal Feed - analysis; Animals; anthelmintic properties; Anthelmintics - pharmacology; artificial infection; Birdsfoot trefoil; Body Weight; Chicory; Cichorium intybus; Cichorium intybus - chemistry; Condensed tannins; Cooperia curticei; Diet - veterinary; disease control; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; experimental diets; Fabaceae - chemistry; fecal egg count; Feces - parasitology; Feeding Behavior; forage; gastrointestinal nematodes; Haemonchus contortus; lambs; Lotus corniculatus; Onobrychis viciifolia; Parasite Egg Count; proanthocyanidins; Sainfoin; Sheep; Sheep Diseases - parasitology; Sheep Diseases - prevention & control; Tannins - chemistry; Tannins - pharmacology; Trichostrongyloidea; Trichostrongyloidiasis - parasitology; Trichostrongyloidiasis - prevention & control; Trichostrongyloidiasis - veterinary; worm burden; Haemonchus contortus; Birdsfoot trefoil; Cooperia curticei; Chicory; Sainfoin; Sheep; Condensed tannins
• ISSN: 0304-4017; 1873-2550
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2007.01.009

We investigated direct anthelmintic effects associated with the feeding of fresh tanniferous forages against established populations of
Haemonchus contortus and
Cooperia curticei in lambs. Twenty-four parasite naive lambs were inoculated with a single dose of infective larvae of these two parasites 27 days prior to the start of the feeding experiment. Lambs were individually fed with either chicory (
Cichorium intybus), birdsfoot trefoil (
Lotus corniculatus), sainfoin (
Onobrychis viciifolia) or a ryegrass/lucerne mixture (control) for 17 days. Animals where then united to one flock and subjected to control feeding for another 11 days to test the sustainability of potentially lowered egg excretion generated by tanniferous forage feeding. When compared to the control, administration of all tanniferous forages was associated with significant reductions of total daily faecal egg output specific to
H. contortus (chicory: 89%; birdsfoot trefoil: 63%; sainfoin: 63%; all tests
P
<
0.05) and a tendency of reduced
H. contortus worm burden (chicory: 15%; birdsfoot trefoil: 49% and sainfoin: 35% reduction). Irrespective of the condensed tannin (CT) containing fodder, no anthelmintic effects were found against
C. curticei. Cessation of CT-feeding followed by non-CT control feeding did not result in a re-emergence of faecal egg counts based on faecal dry matter (FECDM) in any group, suggesting that egg output reductions are sustainable. The moderate to high concentrations of CTs in birdsfoot trefoil (15.2
g
CTs
kg
−1 dry matter (DM)) and sainfoin (26.1
g
CTs
kg
−1 DM) were compatible with the hypothesis that the antiparasitic effect of these forages is caused by their content of CTs. For chicory (3
g
CTs
kg
−1 DM), however, other secondary metabolites need to be considered. Overall, birdsfoot trefoil and in particular sainfoin seem promising candidates in contributing to an integrated control strategy against
H. contortus not only by mitigating parasite related health disturbances of the host but also by a sustained reduction of pasture contamination.