Effect of Quebracho Tannin Drenching on Heligmosomoides Bakeri Infection in Mice

In order to combat the increasing problems of anthelmintic resistance, alternative methods of control of gastrointestinal (GI) nematode infections are being sought. Thirty 8-9 weeks old outbred albino mice were placed in 5 groups of six mice each. Mice in four groups were infected with 150 Heligmosomoides bakeri infective larvae (L3) per mouse while one was reserved as the uninfected control. The anthelmintic potential of quebracho tannin was investigated by drenching three different groups of infected mice with three different dose levels viz: 2, 4 and 6mg/kg body weight. FEC, worm burden and body weight were recorded. The quebracho extract reduced the nematode faecal egg counts (FEC) of treated mice. At the end of the experiment the mice treated with the extract at the dose rate of 4 and 6mg/kg body weight had significantly lower FEC compared to the untreated control group ((F = 3.0756, P = 0.015; F = 3.440, P = 0.008) respectively. The worm burdens of mice treated with 4 and 6mg/kg body weight was lower than those of mice treated with 2mg/kg body weight although the difference was not significant (P = 0.023). Worm burden was negatively correlated to the dose of quebracho (r = -0.9642, P = 0.02). The uninfected mice gained significantly more weight (P = 0.056) in comparison to the infected groups.