Evaluation of Eucalyptus citriodora essential oil on goat gastrointestinal nematodes.

Phytotherapy may be an alternative strategy for controlling gastrointestinal parasites. This study evaluated the anthelmintic efficacy of Eucalyptus citriodora essential oil (EcEO). The in vitro effects of EcEO were determined through testing the inhibition of egg hatching and larval development of Haemonchus contortus. EcEO was subjected to acute toxicity testing on mice, orally and intraperitoneally. The in vivo effects of EcEO were determined by the fecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) in goats infected with gastrointestinal nematodes. The results showed that 5.3 mg.mL(-1) EcEO inhibited egg hatching by 98.8% and 10.6 mg.mL(-1) EcEO inhibited H. contortus larval development by 99.71%. The lethal doses for 50% of the mice were 4153 and 622.8 mg.kg(-1), for acute toxicity orally and intraperitoneally. In the FECRT, the efficacy of EcEO and ivermectin was 66.25 and 79.16% respectively, on goat gastrointestinal nematodes eight days after treatment. EcEO showed in vitro and in vivo anthelmintic activity.