Alternative control of parasitic infections on pastures
In recent years, a scientific team from the Institute of Parasitology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS) has significantly intensified research focused on the development of new preventive and therapeutic strategies, as well as alternative approaches to controlling parasitic infections in ruminants. This effort also responds to the fact that routine anthelmintic therapy (anthelmintics – drugs used to eliminate or reduce parasitic worms, editor’s note) is considered unsustainable and environmentally burdensome.
“These infections include a wide spectrum of parasites that can directly contribute to increased greenhouse gas emissions,” explains Martina Miterpáková from the Institute of Parasitology of the SAS. Scientists from the Laboratory of Therapy of Parasitic Diseases at the Institute of Parasitology of the SAS, in cooperation with colleagues from the Institute of Physiology of Animal Physiology at the Centre of Biosciences of the SAS, focused on verifying the effectiveness of alternative methods for controlling parasitic infections on pastures. Their findings suggest that the presence of plants containing bioactive compounds in meadow grassland communities has significant potential to reduce the parasitic burden in sheep. This opens new possibilities for managing parasitic diseases in livestock.
The researchers further expanded this phytocenological approach by deliberately enriching pastures with chicory and supplementing animals with trace elements, such as zinc, leading to the near-complete elimination of parasitic burden and health benefits for the animals.
Source and photo: Institute of Parasitology of the SAS