PSIV-9 Effects of plant extracts on adult Haemonchus contortus mortality

Parasitic infections are a major concern in animal production with global control measures costing over $10 billion annually. In small ruminants, Haemonchus contortus contributes to substantial economic losses in weight gain and mortality. Historical pharmaceutical control of H. contortus resulted in anthelmintic resistance, further exacerbating economic losses. The rise of anthelmintic resistance precipitated the need to investigate alternative treatments. One promising area is using anthelmintically active plant extracts. It is hypothesized that substances extracted from pumpkin seeds, garlic, and wormwood will demonstrate anthelmintic activity against H. contortus. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of three plant extracts on adult H. contortus mortality in vitro. Pumpkin seed oil (extracted from Cucurbita maxima), allicin (extracted from Allium sativum), and artemisinin (extracted from Artemisia absinthium) were selected as viable alternatives and evaluated for anthelmintic activity. Live adult H. contortus nematodes were extracted from the abomasum of sheep and goats collected from a local abattoir and placed in triplicate into 6-well plates containing differing concentrations of treatments. Fenbendazole was utilized as a positive control and physiological saline as a negative control. Anthelmintic efficacy was determined via time-to-death observation. Time-to-death was determined hourly by observation of movement for thirty seconds. Absence of movement for thirty seconds indicated death. Time-to-death was evaluated via ANOVA. Allicin exhibited a time-to-death similar to fenbendazole (2.15 ± 0.58 h vs. 1.00 ± 0.58 h, P = 0.15). Pumpkin seed oil exhibited accelerated time-to-death compared to negative control (4.15 ± 0.73 h vs. 10.00 ± 0.73 h, P < 0.01). Artemisin did not affect time-to-death at the tested concentrations. Allicin and pumpkin seed oil demonstrated potential as alternative anthelmintics at the evaluated concentrations, providing a potential treatment for H. contortus. Further investigation will determine synergistic effects between extracts and pharmaceuticals.