Chicory: a natural anthelmintic?

(C) Malsa et al CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Recent research in France suggests that chicory shows promise as a natural anthelmintic for horses.

 

Cyathostomes (small redworms) are the most common gastrointestinal parasites in horses and are now the leading cause of parasite-related equine diseases. The larval stages of these worms can damage the large intestinal wall, leading to diarrhoea, colic, and loss of condition.

 

These parasites are also important because they are the most likely to develop resistance to the anthelmintics used to control them. Consequently, there is a shift away from regular deworming to reduce the development of anthelmintic resistance. Limiting unnecessary anthelmintic use is also important due to its environmental impact, particularly on insects that feed on horse manure.

 

Chicory (Cichorium intybus), a common forage plant, has been studied for its potential anthelmintic (anti-parasitic) properties, particularly in ruminants. Research has shown that certain compounds in chicory, such as sesquiterpene lactones, may have effects against gastrointestinal parasites.

 

Joshua Malsa and colleagues investigated the effect of horses grazing pasture containing a high proportion of chicory on faecal worm egg production and larval development. The research is reported in the International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug Resistance.

 

Twenty naturally infected 2-year-old saddle horses were used in the study. All horses were born and raised on the premises where the study took place and were naturally exposed to the same parasite populations. They had not been dewormed for 264 days before the onset of the trial. The last treatment given had been moxidectin.

 

 The horses were divided into two groups, each of ten horses, and were grazed either a field of chicory or a control field of mixed pasture

 

The researchers found a significant reduction in FEC after 16 days of grazing on chicory. By the end of the study grazing on chicory had an efficacy slightly lower than that of pyrantel treatment (85.5% vs 99.3% FECR for chicory and pyrantel respectively). 

 

The chicory diet also reduced the development of eggs into third-stage larvae in faeces and affected the diversity of the cyathostomin community.

 

They conclude: “Our study demonstrated the efficacy of grazing chicory (cv. Puna II) to reduce cyathostomins egg excretion and larval development in horses. The magnitude of this effect was almost as high as expected from synthetic drugs, although we identified differential sensitivity between species.”

 

Integrating chicory into a broader parasite management plan could be beneficial, especially in reducing reliance on chemical dewormers and combating drug resistance.

 

 However, while it might complement conventional parasite control methods, it should not yet be considered a replacement for standard anthelmintics without further research.

 

 

For more details, see:

 

Joshua Malsa, Leslie Boudesocque-Delaye, Laurence Wimel, Juliette Auclair-Ronzaud, Bertrand Dumont, Núria Mach, Fabrice Reigner, Fabrice Guégnard, Angélique Chereau, Delphine Serreau, Isabelle Théry-Koné, Guillaume Sallé, Géraldine Fleurance,

Chicory (Cichorium intybus) reduces cyathostomin egg excretion and larval development in grazing horses.

International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug Resistance, (2024) Vol 24,100523

 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpddr.2024.100523