Abstract

GUERRERO, Luisana et al. Effect of Supplementation with Canavalia ensiformis Seeds on Gastrointestinal Parasites and Performance on West African Ewe Lambs. Rev. Fac. Cienc. Vet. [online]. 2017, vol.58, n.1, pp.24-33. ISSN 0258-6576.

To evaluate the effect of supplementation with ground seeds of  Canavalia ensiformis on nematode eggs counts (number of eggs per gram of stools or EPG), Eimeria oocysts counts per gram (OPG), body weight (BW) and prevalence of parasites genera, twenty one (21) West African lambs, balanced by initial weight and gastro-intestinal parasite load and randomly divided into three homogeneous groups (n=7), were used. The animals grazed 6 hours/day, after supplementation with one of the following three treatments: T (no canavalia); C (2.5g of canavalia/kg per BW); and C+ (5g/kg of canavalia per BW). The assay lasted 77 d. Stool samples for EPG and OPG were taken on a fixed day of the week and the Kruskal-Wallis test was used for the statistical analysis. The results of the experiment show no treatment effect on EPG (1346.8; 1498.7 and 1801.9, for T, C, and C+, respectively = 0.1762). OPG were 1756.5; 1822 and 1257 for T, C, and C+, respectively, being lower for C+ (P = 0.05). BW were similar between treatments (P=0.5834). The predominant genus was Bunostomun for T group (61%), Haemonchus for animals under treatment C (28%) and Cooperia (26%) in animals subjected to treatment C+, (P<0.001). In conclusion, supplementation of the diet with ground canavalia seeds (5g/kg of BW) exerted control on parasite load without affecting productive performance.

Keywords : natural anthelmintic; productive behavior; lambs; body weight.

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