Table 1.
Summary of peer-reviewed in vivo experiments studying the anthelmintic effects of dietary chicory in ruminants
| Livestock species | Chicory DMa (%) | Chicory cv. (sown) | Bioactive compounds in chicory (% DM)b | Nematode infection and experimental designc | Anthelmintic effects in chicory-fed animalsd | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheep | 91 | ni (pure) | Total CT = 0.83% | Exp. T. circumcincta trickle infection while grazing chicory. After 40 days p.i. animals were stabled, treated with levamisole + ivermectin and challenged with T. circumcincta L3 | Lower numbers of mid/late L4 and L5/adult worms from the challenge infection. No effect on FEC while grazing on chicory and trickle infected | [61] |
| 87 | ni (pure) | Total CT = 0.05%; total phenolics = 26.2% | Exp. T. circumcincta infection | Reduction in adult male worms and lower total adult counts by 43% (ns). No effect on FEC, female per capita fecundity or immature worm counts | [52] | |
| 80 | Grasslands Puna (pure) | nr | Exp. Teladorsagia spp., Trichostrongylus spp., Oesophagostomum spp., Cooperia spp. and Nematodirus spp. infection + reinfection from pasture | Reduced FEC and Teladorsagia spp. worm counts | [49] | |
| 80 | ni (pure) | Total CT = 0.05%; total phenolics = 26.2% | Exp. T. colubriformis infection | No effect on FEC, adult or immature worm counts | [51] | |
| 80 | Grasslands Puna (pure) | Total CT = 0.31% | Exp. H. contortus and C. curticei infection (animals stabled) | Reduced total egg output and FECDM of H. contortus. No effect on adult worm counts, on FECDM of C. curticei or on total FECDM | [53] | |
| 50 | Puna II (pure) | nr | Exp. T. circumcincta trickle infection of ewes and reinfection from pasture for ewes and lambs | Reduced FEC in lambs and ewes on chicory and lower T. circumcincta L3 recovered from chicory swards (ns) | [54] | |
| nr | Grasslands Puna (pure) | nr | Natural infection | Reduced abomasal adult counts by 41% and abomasal L4 by 60%. No effect on FEC or intestinal worm counts | [50] | |
| nr | Grasslands Puna (pure) | Total phenolics = 1.8–2.7% | Natural infections in ewes and their lambs. Ewes were either treated or not treated with anthelmintics | Lower FEC in lambs from untreated ewes on chicory. No effect on FEC of undrenched ewes or on adult worm burden in lambs | [62] | |
| nr | Oasis (pure) | nr | Natural infection | Reduced FEC. Chicory-fed lambs had lower FAMACHA scores and required less anthelmintic treatments | [55] | |
| 3–6 | Grasslands Puna (mixed with RG/WC) | nr | Natural infection | No effect on FEC | [57] | |
| nr | Grasslands Puna (nr) | nr | Exp. T. circumcincta and T. colubriformis infection + reinfection from pasture | Reduced FEC and serum pepsinogen levels at Day 42 p.i. | [59] | |
| Cattle | 90 | Spadona (pure) | Total CT = ni; total SL = 1.7–2.3% | Exp. O. ostertagi infections | Reduced worm burdens by 66%. Reduced FEC from Day 21 p.i. onwards | [56] |
| 70 | Spadona (pure) | Total CT = ni; total SL = 1.2% | Exp. Ostertagia ostertagi and Cooperia oncophora infection (stabled animals) | Reduced O. ostertagi worm burdens by 60%. Reduced recovery of O. ostertagi L3. No effect on total FEC and worm burdens of C. oncophora | [56] | |
| 24 | Puna II (mixed with RG) | nr | Natural infection | No effect on FEC, proportion of O. ostertagi or Cooperia spp. L3 in larval cultures, serum pepsinogen or O. ostertagi-antibodies | [58] | |
| Deer | 56–71 | Grasslands Puna (pure) | Total CT = 0.17–0.26% | Natural infection | Fewer clinical signs associated with parasitism, requiring less anthelmintic treatment. No effect on FEC or lungworm L1 counts | [60] |
aIn sward/diet
bDetection of bioactive compounds were performed with different methodologies and are not comparable between studies
cAll studies were grazing experiments, unless otherwise indicated (stabled animals). In all the trials ryegrass or ryegrass/white clover were used as diets for control animals, with the exception of Heckendorn et al. [53] who fed control lambs with ryegrass/lucerne fresh-cut and Miller et al. [55] who used Bermuda grass
dIn comparison to infected animals fed with control diets
Abbreviations: cv cultivar, ns not significant, DM dry matter, exp. experimental, p.i. post-infection, CT condensed tannins, SL sesquiterpene lactones, FEC faecal egg counts, FECDM FEC adjusted per g of faecal DM, L1 first-stage larvae, L3 third-stage larvae (free-living), L4 fourth-stage larvae (immature), L5 fifth-stage larvae, nr not reported, ni not identified