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Animal grazing selectivity and plant chemistry issues impact on the potential of Rhagodia preissii as an anthelmintic shrub

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

A. C. KOTZE ,
E. N. ZADOW ,
P. E. VERCOE ,
N. PHILLIPS ,
A. TOOVEY ,
A. WILLIAMS ,
A. P. RUFFELL ,
A. DINSDALE  and
D. K. REVELL
A. C. KOTZE*
Affiliation:
CSIRO Livestock Industries, St Lucia, QLD, Australia Future Farm Industries Co-operative Research Centre, Crawley, WA, Australia
E. N. ZADOW
Affiliation:
CSIRO Livestock Industries, Centre for Environment and Life Sciences, Wembley, WA, Australia School of Animal Biology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
P. E. VERCOE
Affiliation:
Future Farm Industries Co-operative Research Centre, Crawley, WA, Australia School of Animal Biology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
N. PHILLIPS
Affiliation:
Future Farm Industries Co-operative Research Centre, Crawley, WA, Australia CSIRO Livestock Industries, Centre for Environment and Life Sciences, Wembley, WA, Australia
A. TOOVEY
Affiliation:
Future Farm Industries Co-operative Research Centre, Crawley, WA, Australia CSIRO Livestock Industries, Centre for Environment and Life Sciences, Wembley, WA, Australia
A. WILLIAMS
Affiliation:
CSIRO Livestock Industries, Centre for Environment and Life Sciences, Wembley, WA, Australia
A. P. RUFFELL
Affiliation:
CSIRO Livestock Industries, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
A. DINSDALE
Affiliation:
CSIRO Livestock Industries, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
D. K. REVELL
Affiliation:
Future Farm Industries Co-operative Research Centre, Crawley, WA, Australia CSIRO Livestock Industries, Centre for Environment and Life Sciences, Wembley, WA, Australia
*
*Corresponding author: CSIRO Livestock Industries, 306 Carmody Road, St Lucia, 4067, Australia. E-mail: Andrew.kotze@csiro.au
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Summary

As Rhagodia preissii had shown significant in vitro anthelmintic activity in a previous study, we examined the effect of including this shrub in the diet of sheep infected with Trichostrongylus colubriformis. Worm-infected merino wethers were grazed for 7 weeks on either R. preissii or annual pasture, and faecal egg counts (FECs) were conducted weekly. Plant material was collected weekly from eaten and uneaten plants, and analysed for levels of plant secondary metabolites (tannins, oxalates, saponins) and in vitro anthelmintic activity. While mean FECs were consistently lower in sheep grazing R. preissii compared to pasture (reductions of 20–74%), the differences were not significant. There was no relationship between grazing preference (eaten or uneaten) and in vitro anthelmintic activity of plant extracts. The levels of saponins and oxalates did not correlate with grazing preference or in vitro anthelmintic activity, while tannins were not responsible for the anthelmintic activity. While the identity of the grazing deterrent and in vitro anthelmintic compounds remain unknown, the presence of plants which were both highly preferred by the sheep and showed in vitro anthelmintic activity indicates a potential to develop the species as an anthelmintic shrub through selection of shrub populations dominated by such plants.

Keywords

gastrointestinal parasitesRhagodia preissiigrazingdiet selection
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 138 , Issue 5 , April 2011 , pp. 628 - 637
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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