Effect of feeding a blackseed meal-sericea lespedeza leaf meal pellet on gastrointestinal nematode and coccidia infection and animal performance in young goats.

Gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infection poses the most significant obstacle to the sustainable development of small ruminant (sheep and goat) farming globally. Resistance of GINs to synthetic anthelmintic drugs has led to rising interest in exploring alternative methods for parasite control, such as the utilization of bioactive plants with anti-parasitic properties. In this investigation, black seed (Nigella sativa), a shrub high in secondary antioxidant compounds, and sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata), a perennial legume high in tannins with anti-parasitic properties were combined to determine if two bioactive plants containing different types of secondary compounds can provide a stronger anti-parasitic effect than sericea lespedeza alone. In a 49-day trial, naturally parasitized 6-7-month-old intact male Spanish goats (n = 15/treatment) were fed pelletized feeds encompassing sericea lespedeza leaf meal (SL), a combination of black seed meal (BS) and sericea lespedeza leaf meal (BS-SL - 75 % SL, 25 % BS), or alfalfa (Medicago sativa, control parasitized; CONP), with an additional group of dewormed kids given the alfalfa pellets (Control treated; CONT). Weekly measurements of animal weights and samples of blood and feces were collected to determine the packed cell volume (PCV), GIN fecal egg counts (FEC), and coccidia fecal oocyte counts (FOC), respectively. All animals were processed at the end of the trial (60 total), with adult Haemonchus contortus worms recovered from the abomasum of each goat for counting and sex determination. Carcass weights were recorded after processing. Goats given the SL and BS-SL treatments had lower FEC (P<0.05) than the parasitized alfalfa (CONP) goats. At the end of the study, the SL and BS-SL groups' FOC values were lower (P < 0.05) than the CONT and CONP groups. A rise in PCV values was seen over time for all groups; SL, BS-SL, and CONT animals exhibited higher PCV values (P < 0.05) in comparison to the CONP goats. The parasitized goats fed SL-only pellets showed greater feed intake and animal body weights (P < 0.05) compared to goats fed BS-SL or alfalfa pellets. However, the treatments had no effect on the weight of the goats' carcasses. Although the H. contortus adult worm counts in the CONT goats (alfalfa-dewormed) were lower (P < 0.05) than in the CONP goats (alfalfa-parasitized), they did not differ from the SL or BS-SL animals. This study indicates that sericea lespedeza leaf meal pellet diet, either by itself or in combination with black seed meal, showed promising results as an anthelmintic and may prove to be an effective alternative to exclusive use of conventional deworming drugs. The addition of black seed did not appear to enhance the effectiveness of sericea lespedeza in this study.

Efficacy of sericea lespedeza hay as a natural dewormer in goats: dose titration study.

Gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) parasitism is the greatest threat to economic sheep and goat production in the southern USA, and there is widespread prevalence of GIN resistance to broad-spectrum anthelmintics in this region. A natural alternative for controlling GIN in small ruminants is feeding hay of sericea lespedeza [SL, Lespedeza cuneata (Dum.-Cours., G. Don)], a perennial warm-season legume high in condensed tannins. To determine the level of SL needed to reduce GIN infection, a confinement study was completed with 32 Spanish/Boer/Kiko cross yearling bucks offered one of four diets with 75% hay and 25% concentrate (n=8, 2 pens/treatment, 4 goats/pen). The hay portion of each diet consisted of a combination of ground SL (0%, 25%, 50%, and 75% of the diet) and bermudagrass [BG, Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.; 75%, 50%, 25%, and 0% of the diet]. The bucks were allowed to acquire a natural GIN infection on pasture prior to moving to the pens. After a 3-week adjustment period in the pens, the goats were stratified by fecal egg count (FEC) and packed cell volume (PCV), randomly assigned to treatments and pens, and then fed the treatment diets for six weeks. During the experimental period, fecal and blood samples were collected from individual animals weekly to determine FEC and PCV, respectively. Adult worms from abomasum and small intestines were collected for counting and identification of species at slaughter. Goats fed SL hay at 25%, 50%, and 75% of the diet had 45.3% (P=0.2048), 66.3% (P=0.0134), and 74.5% (P=0.0077) lower FEC than control animals (75% BG hay) after 21 days. The 50% and 75% SL goats had 84.6% (P=0.0625) and 91.9% (P=0.0340) lower FEC than controls by day 42. The 75% SL-fed goats tended to have higher (P=0.0624) PCV and had fewer (P=0.035) abomasal worms than control animals, while PCV and adult worm numbers of the 50% and 25% SL goats were not different from controls. The optimum level of SL hay in the diet for reducing worm numbers of small ruminants appears to be 75%, whereas 50-75% SL reduces FEC, which could lead to reduced larval infection on pasture.