Inclusion of Sainfoin in the Diet Might Alter Strongyle Infection in Naturally Infected Horses

Abstract

It is increasingly difficult to control equine strongyles with synthetic drugs, as resistance is commonly observed. Here, we investigated the possible anthelmintic effect of sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia), a polyphenol-rich legume, in naturally infected horses. On Day 0 (D0), 17 horses were allocated to three different homogenous groups in terms of fecal egg count (FEC): the control group (CONT) received a diet composed on a DM basis of 83% hay and 17% wheat bran, while in the sainfoin 1 (SF1) and sainfoin 2 (SF2) groups, half or all wheat bran, respectively, was replaced by dehydrated sainfoin pellets. The infection dynamics were monitored by weekly FEC, from D0 to D84. On D28, all horses were treated with fenbendazole. Larval motility was assessed from coprocultures at D0, D28, D56 and D84. Horses in Group SF2 had lower FEC from D7 to D28. After fenbendazole treatment, no effect of the diet was measured on FEC. Both before and after anthelmintic treatment, larvae from horses consuming sainfoin were less motile than larvae from the CONT group. These results suggest that sainfoin has an in vivo anthelmintic activity in naturally infected horses, although this effect appears to be context-dependent.