Resumo A resistência de Rhipicephalus microplus a carrapaticidas gera a necessidade de alternativas de controle. Uma das formas de diminuir o uso de carrapaticida em um rebanho é o controle seletivo do carrapato (CS). O presente estudo avaliou o CS em rebanho leiteiro, constituído de diferentes grupos genéticos: Holandês, Jersey, mestiço e Girolando. Carrapatos foram contados na região do terço anterior direito, totalizando nove avaliações em cerca de 90 vacas, a intervalos ao redor de 21 dias. Carrapaticida comercial pour-on foi aplicado somente quando a infestação fosse igual ou superior a oito carrapatos maiores que 4 mm na região anterior. Dados de contagens foram transformados em log10 e analisados por meio de modelos mistos. Houve diferença significativa entre os grupos genéticos: vacas Holandesas apresentaram maiores médias no número de carrapatos, como esperado, embora 34,3% não tenha recebido tratamento carrapaticida; nas demais, o CS proporcionou diminuição do uso de carrapaticidas de 79,1% para as mestiças, 81,5% para as Jersey e 94,9% para as Girolando. O critério utilizado para aplicar o carrapaticida manteve a população de carrapatos sob controle. A grande vantagem do CS foi a economia ao sistema, sem prejudicar os animais, com menos resíduos para animais e meio ambiente.

Abstract Alternatives for Rhipicephalus microplus control are needed in the light of its resistance to acaricides. One of the ways to decrease the use of acaricides in a herd is selective control (SC). In the present study, SC was evaluated in a dairy herd consisting of different genetic groups: Holstein, Jersey, crossbreed and Girolando. Ticks were counted in the right anterior third region on around 90 cows, totaling nine evaluations at intervals of 21 days. Commercial pour-on acaricide was applied only when the infestation was greater than or equal to eight ticks larger than 4 mm in the anterior third region. Tick counts were transformed into log10 and analyzed using mixed models. There was significant difference among groups: Holstein had the highest averages of tick numbers, as expected, although 34.3% did not receive tick treatment. In the other groups, SC reduced the use of acaricides by 79.1% for crossbreed, 81.5% for Jersey and 94.9% for Girolando. The criterion used for applying the acaricide successfully kept the tick population under control. The great advantage of SC was savings to the system, without harming the animals, in addition to generate fewer residues in the animals and in the environment.

Resumo O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os efeitos da infecção por Trichostrongylus colubriformis nos parâmetros hemato-bioquímicos, digestibilidade aparente dos nutrientes e balanço de nitrogênio de cordeiros Santa Inês. Dezoito cordeiros Santa Inês, de três meses de idade e castrados (16,9 ± 1,43 kg de peso corporal), foram distribuídos aleatoriamente em dois tratamentos experimentais: infectados com T. colubriformis (I, n = 9) e não infectados (U, n = 9). O grupo I recebeu um total de 45.000 larvas L3 de T. colubriformis (5.000 larvas infectantes, três vezes por semana, durante três semanas). Durante o período experimental, foram avaliadas as variáveis sanguíneas, digestibilidade e balanço de nitrogênio. Os cordeiros I apresentaram redução de eritrócitos, hemoglobina, hematócrito, volume corpuscular médio e proteínas totais, além de aumento de plaquetas e eosinófilos, quando comparados ao grupo U (p< 0,05). Contudo, exceto para proteínas totais, os valores estavam dentro do intervalo normal para a espécie. Além disso, a digestibilidade da matéria seca e da matéria orgânica foi menor no grupo I de cordeiros (p = 0,08). Os presentes achados destacam que a infecção por T. colubriformis teve potencial para prejudicar alguns parâmetros hemato-bioquímicos, bem como a digestibilidade aparente da dieta, o que poderia afetar a produtividade dos cordeiros.

Abstract This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Trichostrongylus colubriformis infection on the hemato-biochemical parameters, feed digestibility, and nitrogen balance in Santa Inês lambs. Eighteen three-month-old Santa Ines castrated male lambs (16.9 ± 1.43 kg of body weight) were randomly distributed in two experimental treatments: infected with T. colubriformis (I, n = 9) and uninfected (U, n = 9). The I group received a total of 45,000 L3 larvae of T. colubriformis (5,000 infective larvae, three times per week, for three weeks). During the experimental period, blood, feed digestibility, and nitrogen balance were evaluated. The I lambs showed a reduction in erythrocytes, hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, and total proteins, as well as an increase in platelets and eosinophils compared to those in the U group (p < 0.05). With the exception of total protein content, these values were within the normal range for the species. Furthermore, lower dry matter and organic matter digestibility were observed in the I lambs (p = 0.08). The present findings highlight that T. colubriformis infection has the potential to impair some hemato-biochemical parameters as well as feed digestibility in lambs, which could affect their productivity.

Albendazole and fenbendazole are imidazole derivatives that exhibit broad spectrum activity against parasites, but the low solubility of these drugs considerably reduces their effectiveness. Complexation of albendazole and fenbendazole with cyclodextrins (β-cyclodextrin and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin) in both water and an aqueous solution of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP-k30) was studied to determine if it could increase the solubility and dissolution rate of the drugs. In an aqueous solution, β-cyclodextrin increased the solubility of albendazole from 0.4188 to ~93.47 µg mL-1 (223×), and of fenbendazole from 0.1054 to 45.56 µg mL-1 (432×); hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin, on the other hand, increased solubility to ~443.06 µg mL-1 (1058×) for albendazole and ~159.36 μg mL-1 (1512×) for fenbendazole. The combination of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin and polyvinylpyrrolidone enabled a solubility increase of 1412× (~591.22 µg mL-1) for albendazole and 1373× (~144.66 µg mL-1) for fenbendazole. The dissolution rate of the drugs was significantly increased in binary and ternary systems, with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin proving to be more effective. The presence of the water-soluble PVP-k30 increased the dissolution rate and amorphization of the complexes. Analysis of the changes in displacement and the profile of the cyclodextrin bands in the 1H NMR spectra revealed a molecular interaction and pointed to an effective complexation in the drug/cyclodextrin systems. Monomeric forms and nanoclusters of cyclodextrins were observed in the drug/cyclodextrin systems, suggesting that the increase in solubility of the drugs in the presence of cyclodextrins should not be attributed only to the formation of inclusion complexes, but also to the formation of cyclodextrin aggregates.