USE OF Eucalyptus camaldulensis LEAF EXTRACTS AS ALTERNATIVE TO CONTROL OF HELMINTHS IN SHEEP
Various species of helminths parasitize sheep and result in considerable pathogenesis and economic losses in sheep farming with deleterious influences on sheep productivity. The problem to control these infections is further complicated due to the emergence of anthelmintic resistance against conventional anthelmintics. This study seek to reawaken interest in herbal medicine as an alternate source of anthelmintics. The anthelmintic activity of the crude leaf extracts of Eucalptus camaldulensis were determined using sheep naturally infected with helminth. The experiment was led on a randomized complete block design with 5 treatments replicated three times. All standard procedures were followed for phytochemical screening with fecal egg count for the determination of extracts efficacy on 3 helminth spp. Results on phytochemistry of E.camaldulensis had high presence of tannins followed by saponins, the least present were alkaloids and steroids. Fecal egg count result showed a high reduction when treated with high dosage; 800mg/kg body weight gave 98.4% with the lowest at 200 mg/kg (32%) compared to albendazole (99%). The result of this study indicates that E. camaldulensis possess anthelmintic properties.
Keywords: Sheep; Eucalptus camaldulensis; Helminths; Anthelmintics; Feacal Egg Count
