Ovicidal effect of eucalyptus wood vinegar on gastrointestinal nematodes’ eggs from sheep

Vet World Vol.18 May-2025 Article - 8

Research Article

Veterinary World, 18(5): 1156-1167

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2025.1156-1167

Yandra Thais Rocha da Mota¹

, Alexandre Santos Pimenta²

, Moacir Franco de Oliveira³

, Ana Karolinne de Alencar França¹

, Andressa Marcelly Silvestre Pereira¹

, Rafael Rodolfo de Melo⁴

, Thays Vieira da Costa Monteiro⁵

, Maíra Fasciotti⁵

, Lúcio César Dantas de Medeiros²

, and Ana Carla Diógenes Suassuna Bezerra¹

1. Diagnostic and Experimental Parasitology Laboratory, Graduate Program in Development and Environment – PRODEMA, Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido – UFERSA, Mossoró City, Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil.

2. Graduate Program in Forest Sciences – PPGCFL, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte – UFRN, Macaíba City, Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil.

3. Department of Animal Sciences, Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido – UFERSA, Mossoró City, Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil.

4. Laboratory of Wood Technology, Department of Agronomy and Forest Engineering, Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido – UFERSA, Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil.

5. Laboratory of Organic Analysis, Instituto Nacional de Metrologia, Qualidade e Tecnologia, Av. Nossa Sra. das Graças, 50, Xerém, Duque de Caxias 25250-020, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Background and Aim: Gastrointestinal nematodes (GINs) significantly impair small ruminant production globally, particularly in tropical regions. Anthelmintic resistance due to the indiscriminate use of synthetic drugs has necessitated the search for sustainable, plant-based alternatives. Eucalyptus wood vinegar (WV), a by-product of biomass pyrolysis, possesses bioactive compounds with potential anthelmintic activity. This study aimed to assess the in vitro ovicidal efficacy of eucalyptus WV and WV derived from co-pyrolysis of eucalyptus wood with Origanum majorana (marjoram) against eggs of GINs from naturally infected sheep.

Materials and Methods: WV samples were produced through controlled pyrolysis and refined through sequential vacuum distillation. Egg hatchability tests were performed using five WV concentrations (0.3125%–5% g/100 mL), with thiabendazole as a positive control and distilled water as a negative control. Egg counts, species identification, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were conducted to evaluate structural changes. The chemical compositions of the WVs were characterized using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS).

Results: Both WVs exhibited significant ovicidal activity, with eucalyptus WV achieving 97% inhibition at 1.25%, and the marjoram-enriched WV reaching 100% inhibition at 5%. GC/MS analysis revealed the presence of phenolic compounds, furfural, thymol, and eucalyptol, the latter two being exclusive to the marjoram formulation. SEM micrographs confirmed morphological deformations in treated eggs, including loss of symmetry and membrane integrity. The synergistic interaction among bioactive components, particularly thymol, eucalyptol, and furfural, is proposed as the mechanism enhancing ovicidal activity.

Conclusion: Eucalyptus WV, particularly when enriched with O. majorana through co-pyrolysis, exhibits potent ovicidal effects against GINs in sheep. These findings support the potential use of WVs as eco-friendly anthelmintic alternatives in integrated parasite management strategies for small ruminants.

Keywords: anthelmintic resistance, egg hatch test, eucalyptus vinegar, Origanum majorana, phenolic compounds, sustainable parasite control.

How to cite this article: da Mota YTR, Pimenta AS, de Oliveira MF, de Alencar França AK, Pereira AMS, de Melo RR, da Costa Monteiro TV, Fasciotti M, de Medeiros LCD, and Bezerra ACDS (2025) Ovicidal effect of eucalyptus wood vinegar on gastrointestinal nematodes’ eggs from sheep, Veterinary World, 18(5): 1156–1167.

Received: 20-02-2025 Accepted: 23-04-2025 Published online: 13-05-2025

Corresponding author: Alexandre Santos Pimenta E-mail: alexandre.pimenta@ufrn.br

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2025.1156-1167

Copyright: Mota, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.