Is clove essencial oil (Eugenia caryophyllata) able to chemically castrate newborn pigs?

Abstract

Chemical castration has been an alternative to reduce costs for producers and improve animal welfare. The clove (Eugenia caryophyllata) has several therapeutic potentials, among which there are reports of sterilizing potential. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential sterilizing effect of clove (Eugenia caryophyllata) essential oil in pigs, in order to reduce costs to producers while at the same time following animal welfare guidelines. Twenty pigs were randomly selected and divided into four equal groups. Clove oil was administered at two concentrations in the animals of two groups (G1 = 0.07 mL/kg; G3 = 0.3 mL/kg) and saline solution at different concentrations in the two remaining groups (G2 = 0.07 mL/kg; G4 = 0.3 mL/kg). At 60 days after induction of chemical castration, the animals underwent orchiectomy, a procedure in which the testicles were collected for histological processing. Histopathology revealed that none of the concentrations used was able to induce chemical sterilization of the animals, different from what was expected. It is concluded that the chemical castration technique is easy to perform, but the clove essential oil was not able to induce chemical sterilization in animals at the concentrations in which was used.