In vivo comparative efficacy of indigenous plants against Trichostrongylus

The crude aqueous methanolic extract of the medicinal plants, collected from different areas of district Zhob, the north-east region of Balochistan, Pakistan, were used for in-vivo studies against Trichostrongylids in sheep. For this purpose, eighty sheep of either sex, aged between three to six months and naturally infested with Trichostrongylids nematodes (Trichostrongylus spp. Haemonchus contortus, cooperia spp. etc) were selected and managed separately for the experiment. These sheep were divided into 4 groups. Group A contained 10 sheep and was kept as untreated control. Thirty (30) sheep kept in group B, were further divided into three equal sub groups i.e. B1, B2 and B3 and treated with three different dose levels of Chenopodium album @ 1, 2 and 3 g/kg body weight respectively. Group C having thirty (30) sheep was also divided into three equal sub groups i.e. C1, C2 and C3 and treated with three different levels of Artemisia brevifolia @ 1, 2 and 3g/kg body weight respectively. Group D, contained 10 sheep, was treated with Levamisole TM (ICI) @ 7.5mg/kg body weight. Faecal egg count reduction was criterion for evaluation. Faecal samples were collected before treatment on day 0 and on day 3, 5, 7, 10 and 14 post treatments. Best faecal egg count reduction results (87.08%) were observed in Levamisole TM (ICI) treated group as compared to Artemisia brevifolia treated group (66.88%) at the dose level of 3gm/kg body weight followed by Chenopodium album treated group (51.03%) at the dose level of 3gm/kg body weight. It was concluded that the crude aqueous methanolic extract of the medicinal indigenous plants of Zhob region are not sufficient for any anthelmintic effect as compared to synthetic medicines.