Abstract
Gastrointestinal Nematode Infection (GIN) are the main constraint to the production of small ruminants. Studies of medicinal plants have been an important alternative in the effort to control these parasites. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the in vitro ovicidal and larvicidal activity of essential oil of Rosmarinus officinalis. The oil was extracted, analyzed by gas chromatography and tested on GIN eggs and larvae in six concentrations, 227.5mg/mL, 113.7mg/mL, 56.8mg/mL, 28.4mg/mL, 14.2mg/mL and 7.1mg/mL. To determine the ovicidal activity, GIN eggs were recovered from sheep feces and incubated for 48h with different concentrations of the oil. For the evaluation of larval migration, third-stage larvae (L3) were obtained by fecal culture, and associated with the essential oil for 24h at the same concentrations, after which they were left for another 24 hours on microsieves, followed by the count of migrating and non-migrating larvae. The assays of R. officinalis oil showed a significant (p<0.05) 97.4% to 100% inhibition of egg hatching and a significant (p<0.05) 20% to 74% inhibition of larval migration. The main constituent revealed by gas chromatography was Eucalyptol. The results indicate that R. officinalis essential oil has ovicidal and larvicidal activity on sheep GINs.
Highlights
Sheep meat production has been strongly promoted and its structure has been modified to meet market demands, aiming for greater productivity in less space
Attempts to reduce losses have led to significantly increased frequency and doses applied in anthelmintic treatments, causing irreversible resistance of Gastrointestinal Nematode Infection (GIN) to practically all the available active ingredients (SALGADO & SANTOS, 2016)
Worldwide studies that have focused on devising new strategies to combat these nematodes include management procedures involving different ruminant species, rotational grazing, crop‐livestock integration, genetic selection of animals, the use of fungi and bacteria in biological control, herbal medicines, and vaccine production (MOLENTO et al, 2013; SINOTT et al, 2012)
Summary
Sheep meat production has been strongly promoted and its structure has been modified to meet market demands, aiming for greater productivity in less space. To this end, sheep flocks have been concentrated in small areas and animals selected based on their production of meat. Sheep flocks have been concentrated in small areas and animals selected based on their production of meat This new reality of production, coupled with inefficient management, has caused gastrointestinal nematodes (GINs) to become the main obstacle to sheep production (AMARANTE et al, 2014). Worldwide studies that have focused on devising new strategies to combat these nematodes include management procedures involving different ruminant species, rotational grazing, crop‐livestock integration, genetic selection of animals, the use of fungi and bacteria in biological control, herbal medicines, and vaccine production (MOLENTO et al, 2013; SINOTT et al, 2012)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
