Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 18, 2026
Experimental Infection of Mice with the Parasitic Nematode Strongyloides ratti
Published on: January 17, 2025
Effect of feeding Mucuna pruriens on helminth parasite infestation in lambs
C M Huisden1, A T Adesogan, J M Gaskin
1Department of Animal Sciences, Institute of Food and Agricultural Science, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
Ethnopharmacological Relevance:
Mucuna pruriens is a tropical legume anecdotally reputed to have anthelmintic properties. This study was conducted to examine the validity of such claims.
Aim Of The Study:
The aim of this study was to determine if ingestion of Mucuna seeds reduces helminth parasite infestation in lambs.
Materials And Methods:
Thirty-six Dorper x Katahdin ram lambs were assigned to three treatments, a cottonseed meal based control diet, a diet in which Mucuna replaced cottonseed meal and the control diet with levamisole (7.5mg/kg body weight) administration. All diets were isonitrogenous and isocaloric. The 12 lambs in each treatment were assigned randomly to 4 pens, each containing 3 lambs. Lambs were trickle infected three times per week by gavage with infectious Haemonchus contortus larvae (2000 larvae/lamb) for 3 weeks.
Results:
Levamisole treatment decreased fecal egg counts by 87% and abomasal worm counts by 83%. Mucuna intake did not statistically affect fecal egg counts or abomasal worm counts, though numerical (P>0.10) reductions of 7.4% and 18.1%, respectively were evident. Anemia indicators, feed intake, and lamb growth were unaffected by treatment.
Conclusions:
Levamisole reduced the Haemonchus parasite burden in lambs significantly but feeding Mucuna reduced the burden by levels unlikely to eliminate the clinical effects of parasitism.
