Efficacy of aqueous extract of Vernonia amygdalina leaf against strongyle and coccidia infections in sheep

Abstract

Gastro intestinal parasites are developing resistance to various commercial anthelminthics. Hence, the need to explore the efficacies of herbal plants against gastro-intestinal parasites. The study was therefore conducted to determine the efficacy of aqueous extract of Vernonia amygdalina leaf against strongyles and coccidia spp. in sheep.A total of 60 sheep were used for the study. The animals were randomly assigned to one of the four groups. Those in group A, B, C and D were given albendazole (ABZ), 10% aqueous V. amygdalina extract (BL10), 20% aqueous V. amygdalina extract (BL20) and 10ml distilled water (Dw) respectively. All four treatments were given orally, depending on the body weight of the animals, with the exception of the distilled water which was constant (10ml) for each animal. Fecal samples were collected from each sheep and examined using McMaster technique. The data were analyzed using R version 4.2. The study brought to light that the prevalence of strongyles in sheep was 70% in the study area at pre-treatment. BL10 had efficacies of 52.58% and 65.08% against strongyles and coccidia spp. respectively. BL20 produced similar anthelmintic effect against strongyles as albendazole. Strongyle spp. showed resistance against albendazole in the study area.