Evaluation of two treatments based on garlic (Allium sativum), in comparison to a commercial antiparasitic (Albendazole), for controlling gastro-intestinal parasites in lactating calves

Contextualization: In the department of Caquetá, the main economical activity has been livestock and, precisely, one of the main problems in lactating calves is the presence of parasitic diseases since it can cause health problems to them, but specially a decrease in productive indicators, and therefore economic losses for the farmer.

Knowledge gap: There are hundreds of commercial drugs on the market for the treatment of gastrointestinal parasites, but there is a possibility that they create resistance to those products; in addition, the final consumer will not have the certainty of consuming safe and quality products. That is why it is necessary to explore other alternatives that be effective for controlling parasites and that do not accumulate toxic waste; also, that be friendly to the environment and economically accessible to farmers.

 Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of two treatments with inclusion of garlic [Allium sativum] in different concentrations [5 % and 10 %] [Albendazole 25 %] as a deworming control method in lactating calves, and also to compare the costs of its implementation respect to a conventional chemical treatment.

Methodology: The inclusion of garlic, in different percentages, was evaluated as a deworming method in lactating calves from Hacienda La María, in the municipality of San José del Fragua. We worked with 15 calves distributed in 3 groups and treatments as follows: Treatment I with a 5% of garlic, Treatment II with a 10% of garli c, and finally Treatment III with a 25% of Albendazole. The statistical analysis of the variables was done through a completely randomized design.

 Results and conclusions: The inclusion of garlic orally, in percentages of 5 % and 10 %, did not show any therapeutic and statistical efficacy versus the treatment with Albendazole at 25 %. The three treatments [Garlic at 5 %, Garlic at 10 %, and Albendazole at 25 %] were not efficient for controlling eggs of the genera Coccidea, Strongylidae and Trichistrongylus