Abstract

Objective: We assessed the combined crude plant extract (CPE) effects of Allium cepa, Ananas comosus, Bidens pilosa, Carica papaya, Nicotiana tabacum, Vernonia amygdalina, Zingiber officinale, and Aloe vanbalenii on sheep and goat gastrointestinal nematodes (GINs) in vitro.
Materials and Methods: Fecal samples from naturally GIN-infected sheep and goats were incubated with L3 larvae and then treated with CPE combinations. The treated L3 was separated and counted under a light microscope to determine the synergistic or antagonistic interactions between the combined CPEs. Interactions between combined CPEs were calculated using Webb’s fractional product (WFPM) and simple (SM) methods.
Results: Animal species showed the same CPE efficacy on GINs (p > 0.05). CPE combinations, however, showed 80%–100% effective action against sheep or goat GINs. Whereas SM alone produced synergistic interactions, WFPM produced antagonistic and synergistic interactions. The most effective combination for goats was V. amygdalina + Z. officinale (100%), whereas the most effective combinations for sheep were A. cepa + C. papaya (100%), V. amygdalina + Z. officinale (100%), and A. comosus + N. tabacum (100%). Goats had a lower CPE combined efficacy (89.16% ± 0.95%) than sheep (95.45% ± 0.95%) (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Combined CPEs that were effective in the current study should be studied in vivo.

Key words: Endoparasites; ethnoveterinary medicine; small ruminants