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Plants of the Cerrado naturally selected by grazing sheep may have potential for inhibiting development of Haemonchus contortus larva

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Abstract

Plant species naturally selected by sheep grazing in the Cerrado region of Brazil were assessed in vitro for activity against Haemonchus contortus. One year of observations showed the plant families in the region exhibiting greatest richness to be Fabaceae, Rubiaceae, Malpighiaceae, Bignoniaceae, Myrtaceae, and Annonaceae. Nine species commonly selected by grazing sheep showed variation in the selectivity index with respect to the dry and rainy seasons. Coproculture was conducted in five replicates of 11 treatments: ivermectin, distilled water, or dehydrated leaves of nine selected plant species administered at 333.3 mg g−1 fecal culture. The dried powder of Piptadenia viridiflora and Ximenia americana leaves significantly reduced the number of infective larvae compared to the distilled water control. These species showed efficacy of over 85 % despite low concentrations of proanthocyanidin. High-performance liquid chromatography analyses of extracts of these plants showed major peaks of UV spectra characteristic of flavonoids. Those naturally selected plant species with high antihelminthic efficacy show promise for use in diet as an alternative control of H. contortus in sheep.

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Acknowledgments

National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), financial support and scholarships designed by the Foundation for Research Support of Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG), Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), and Pro-Rectory Research of Universidad Federal de Minas Gerais (PRPq-UFMG).

Statement of animal rights

All procedures were performed according to principles of animal experimentation approved by protocol 23/2009 by the Ethics Committee on Animal Experimentation of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-graduação em Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Franciellen Morais-Costa & Walter dos Santos Lima

  2. Programa de Pós-graduação em Produção Animal, Instituto de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Avenida Universitária, 1000, Bairro Universitário, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, CEP 39401-790, Brazil

    Ana Cláudia Maia Soares, Gabriela Almeida Bastos, Luciana Castro Geraseev & Eduardo Robson Duarte

  3. Mestrado Profissionalizante em Biotecnologia, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Yule Roberta Ferreira Nunes

  4. Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Fernão Castro Braga

Authors
  1. Franciellen Morais-Costa
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  2. Ana Cláudia Maia Soares
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  3. Gabriela Almeida Bastos
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  4. Yule Roberta Ferreira Nunes
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  5. Luciana Castro Geraseev
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  6. Fernão Castro Braga
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  7. Walter dos Santos Lima
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  8. Eduardo Robson Duarte
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Correspondence to Eduardo Robson Duarte.

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Morais-Costa, F., Soares, A.C.M., Bastos, G.A. et al. Plants of the Cerrado naturally selected by grazing sheep may have potential for inhibiting development of Haemonchus contortus larva. Trop Anim Health Prod 47, 1321–1328 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-015-0866-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-015-0866-8

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