Comparative efficacy of herbal and modern anthelmintics against gastrointestinal worms in goats reared in free range system of grazing

Abstract

Gastrointestinal parasite diseases, which cause slow growth, poor reproductive performance, and mortality, are one of the key obstacles for a lucrative goat business in tropical and subtropical regions, including India. The predominant method of managing livestock parasites has been the use of synthetic anthelmintics, which may lead parasites of small ruminants to acquire resistance to these treatments. Herbal medicine is an alternative way to parasite control. For these reasons, despite therapeutic practices all over the world, interest in screening medicinal plants for anthelmintic properties has remained high. Aloe is a traditional herbal cure used to heal several ailments. Goats are bred in this study on a large grazing facility. Sixty goats of both the sexes aged between 1 to 3 years were primarily selected in this study. Out of this, thirty heavily gastrointestinal helminths infected were selected for the research. The thirty goats were divided into three groups. (Ten goats/group). Group A-Albendazole @ 10 mg/kg solution was administered orally. Group B- Aloe vera pulp @ 250gm/goat was administered orally. Group C-No drug was administered used as untreated as control group. Fecal samples were collected directly from the rectum of goats on day 0, 7, 14 and 28 post treatment. During this study it was also observed that there were no significant (p>0.05) changes in EPG of the animals of control group. Albendazole exhibited 100% efficacy on day 14th and 28th post treatment, whereas Aloe vera exhibited 100% efficacy on day 28th post treatment. Anthelmintic efficacy of Albendazole is well established and when it was compared with Aloe vera it has been shown that leaves of Aloe vera have marked anthelmintic property.