Anthelmintic Potency of Neem (Azadirachta indica) Leaf Meal on West African Dwarf (WAD) Sheep

Abstract

A 90-day study was conducted to determine the response of semi intensively managed West African dwarf sheep to concentrate supplement containing varying levels of neem leaf meal (NLM). Twenty (20) West African Dwarf sheep aged 5 to 6 months with an average weight of 10kg were used in a Completely Randomized Design with animals grouped into four treatments of five replicates each balanced for weight. The animals were allowed to graze on natural pastures predominantly made up of Panicum maximum in the morning with a daily supplementation of 100g concentrate diet containing varying levels of neem leaf meal at 0, 5, 10 and 15%. Blood samples were taken from the animals before the commencement of the experiment and at the end of the experiment. At the start of the experiment, faecal samples were collected from each animal to determine the faecal egg count and this was repeated once in three weeks for the 90 day experimental period. There was significant (P < 0.05) difference in the haematology indices studied with no definate pattern. The inclusion of NLM in the diets of West African Dwarf sheep significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the faecal egg counts across the treatments with a percentage reduction range of 33.38 to 88.00% for sheep on 0% and 5% NLM, respectively. This study, however, concluded that neem leaf inclusion at 5% in West African dwarf sheep’s diet had effects on the overall performance of the animals with a potential improvement in drastic reduction in faecal egg counts.

Efficacy of Neem (Azadirachta Indica), Shahtra (Fumaria Parviflora) Leaves and Kalonji (Nigella Sativa) Seeds Against Haemonchus Contortus Infection in Locally Bred Rambouillet Sheep in Pakistan

“…In another experiment feeding of Neem leaf meal to infected sheep at 5% of concentrate, ration resulted in 88 % reduction in faecal egg count of treated animals after 12 weeks which signifies the anthelmintic efficacy of Neem leaves (Adelusi et al 2019). In a similar study conducted by Iqbal et al (2012), 98.91% reduction in EPG was recorded after 14 days of drenching the infected lambs with crude aqueous methanol extract of Neem seeds at the dose of 2g/kg body weight.…”

Neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) leaves as growth promoter in lambs’ diets

“…In a study with fattening lambs where 30% of the Brassica campestris straw was replaced with neem leaves, both the digestibility of the protein, the intake of dry matter and protein, and the production of total volatile fatty acids increased [12]. The inclusion of 5% of neem leaves in sheep's diets increased the serum concentration of protein and urea [2]. At the same time, the biochemical compounds present in neem could modify the protein metabolites, since the inclusion of 2.5-5% of neem paste in lambs' diets modified the microbial growth for a higher production of microbial protein [7].…”

“…The neem plant (Azadirachta indica) is known for its medicinal properties in humans, as antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anthelmintic, and hepatoprotector [1]. Meanwhile, in ruminants it is used primarily as fodder and deworming agent [1,2]. Neem contains bioactive compounds such as azadirachtin, nimbidin, nimbidol, salanin and triterpenoid, and depending on the amount ingested, they can be used as growth promoters or become toxic in the diet of ruminants [4].…”

“…Neem leaves in lambs can be used as sole diet [11], complement or replacement of conventional fodders [4,12]. In addition, neem leaves may be used as antibiotic, anthelmintic, and growth promoter when it is added to sheep's diets [2,3]. Supplementation with neem leaf flour (0.5-1%) in sheep's diets increased weight gain [13].…”