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Home / Equine Research Bank / Animals (Basel) / Inclusion of Sainfoin in the Diet Might Alter Strongyle Infe...
Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2022; 12(8); 955; doi: 10.3390/ani12080955

Inclusion of Sainfoin in the Diet Might Alter Strongyle Infection in Naturally Infected Horses.

Abstract: It is increasingly difficult to control equine strongyles with synthetic drugs, as resistance is commonly observed. Here, we investigated the possible anthelmintic effect of sainfoin (), a polyphenol-rich legume, in naturally infected horses. On Day 0 (D0), 17 horses were allocated to three different homogenous groups in terms of fecal egg count (FEC): the control group (CONT) received a diet composed on a DM basis of 83% hay and 17% wheat bran, while in the sainfoin 1 (SF1) and sainfoin 2 (SF2) groups, half or all wheat bran, respectively, was replaced by dehydrated sainfoin pellets. The infection dynamics were monitored by weekly FEC, from D0 to D84. On D28, all horses were treated with fenbendazole. Larval motility was assessed from coprocultures at D0, D28, D56 and D84. Horses in Group SF2 had lower FEC from D7 to D28. After fenbendazole treatment, no effect of the diet was measured on FEC. Both before and after anthelmintic treatment, larvae from horses consuming sainfoin were less motile than larvae from the CONT group. These results suggest that sainfoin has an in vivo anthelmintic activity in naturally infected horses, although this effect appears to be context-dependent.
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Publication Date: 2022-04-07 PubMed ID: 35454202PubMed Central: PMC9029355DOI: 10.3390/ani12080955Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The article examines the potential of Sainfoin, a legume with high polyphenol content, in treating equine strongyles in horses. Through a controlled study, it reveals that the diet inclusive of Sainfoin resulted in lower fecal egg count, a sign of less worm infestation. Additionally, it was found that the parasite larvae were less active.

Study Methodology

  • Seventeen horses with naturally occurring strongyle (a type of worm) infection were distributed into three groups based on their fecal egg count (FEC), a measure of infection severity.
  • The control group’s (CONT) diet was made up of 83% hay and 17% wheat bran. In contrast, the two test groups (SF1 and SF2) had their diets modified by replacing half or all of their wheat bran content with dehydrated sainfoin pellets.
  • The analysis of the worms’ infection dynamics spanned over 84 days and involved weekly FEC assessments. All horses were given the standard worm treatment, fenbendazole, on the 28th day.
  • The researchers also assessed larval motility (movement ability) from the horses’ coprocultures at the start of the study, and on the 28th, 56th, and 84th days.

Key Findings

  • Results indicated that horses in the SF2 group had a lower FEC from Day 7 to Day 28, which suggests that the inclusion of sainfoin in the diet mitigated the strongyle infections.
  • Following the fenbendazole treatment, no notable effect from the diet change was observed regarding the FEC. This implies that the sainfoin’ impact was not significant enough to modify the treatment’s effects.
  • Before and after the fenbendazole treatment, larvae obtained from sainfoin-consuming horses were less motile than those from the CONT group, suggesting that sainfoin ingestion somehow hinders the worms’ movement ability.

Conclusions

  • The evidence from this study suggests that Sainfoin has an in vivo anthelmintic activity in naturally infected horses, and it may help in managing strongyle infections when incorporated into their diet. However, the researchers note that the effective performance can be context-dependent.
  • While this initial research indicates a potential avenue for managing strongyle infections in horses, more extensive studies are needed to validate these results and further explore the complex dynamics and underlying mechanisms of sainfoin’s impact on worm infections in horses.

Cite This Article

APA
Grimm P, Laroche N, Julliand S, Sorci G. (2022). Inclusion of Sainfoin in the Diet Might Alter Strongyle Infection in Naturally Infected Horses. Animals (Basel), 12(8), 955. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12080955

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 12
Issue: 8
PII: 955

Researcher Affiliations

Grimm, Pauline
  • Lab To Field, 26 bd Docteur Petitjean, 21000 Dijon, France.
Laroche, Noémie
  • Lab To Field, 26 bd Docteur Petitjean, 21000 Dijon, France.
  • Biogéosciences, CNRS UMR 6282, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 Boulevard Gabriel, 21000 Dijon, France.
Julliand, Samy
  • Lab To Field, 26 bd Docteur Petitjean, 21000 Dijon, France.
Sorci, Gabriele
  • Biogéosciences, CNRS UMR 6282, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 Boulevard Gabriel, 21000 Dijon, France.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

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Citations

This article has been cited 1 times.
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