Efficacy of garlic as an anthelmintic in sheep

Abstract

The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of garlic as an anthelmintic in sheep. The efficacy of the treatments was calculated based on the reduction of fecal egg counts (FEC) and coproculture. Eight experiments were conducted, four under feedlot conditions (ewes submitted to treatment repeated four (E1) or two times (E2)); the same was done with lambs (E3-E4). The other four experiments (E5- 8) were carried out using the same strategy, with the animals being kept on pasture. In the feedlot, crossbred sheep were divided into three groups: a negative control; the
second group was treated with garlic bulb (120 g/100 kg body weight) administered at regular intervals, four or two times (on days 1, 7, 14 and 21 or on days 1 and 14); the third group was submitted to the same treatment but using garlic aqueous extract. Two groups were used for the pasture condition: negative control and treated with garlic
aqueous extract. Fecal samples were collected on days 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28. The treatments with garlic bulb or garlic aqueous extract resulted in a reduction of 55 and 72% in FEC in ewes and of 68 and 76% in lambs in the feedlot condition, respectively. The use of the aqueous extract reduced FEC by approximately 80 and 74% in ewes and lambs raised on pasture, respectively. Similar values were observed for the groups treated at regular intervals (four or two times). The larval genera identified in the treatments for the two management strategies were similar.