Anthelmintic Potential of Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) Seeds

Ascaris suum is known to be the prevalent internal parasites affecting swine. Swine raisers are beset with poor average daily gain in weight of swine, once this parasite competes with the nutritional requirement of the animal. The seeds of Tamarindus indica are commonly thrown after consumption of the fruit pericarp, without realizing its potential anthelmintic use. This study determined the mortality of A. suum exposure to different concentrations of Tamarind seed extract at 36 hours observation. Experimental research method with 4 treatments and 10 samples per treatment was used to gather pertinent data in this study. Thad 10 A. suum exopose to Goodwins solution, T+ had 10 A. suum exposure to Goodwins and Albendazole, T1 had 10 A. suum, Goodwins solution and 40% Tamarind seed extract (TSE) and T2 had 10 A. suum, Goodwins solution and 80% TSE. Data were analyzed by Analysis of Variance and Fisher Least Significant Difference test was employed to determine what treatment is significant over the other.. Result of the study revealed that T2 (80% TSE) killed the A. suum as early as 12 hours of exposure while A. suum in T1 (40% TSE) had 90% mortality at 24 hours of exposure. This implies that TSE is potent at 12 hours of exposure at 80% concentration and can be used as anthelmintics from herbal source.