Comparative Efficacy of Piperazine Citrate, Levamisole and Pineapple Leaves Extract Against Naturally Infected Ascariasis in Indigenous Chickens

The experiment was carried out to determine the comparative efficacy of piperazine citrate, levamisole and pineapple leaves extract as anthelmintics against ascariasis in chicken in the Department of Pharmacology in collaboration with Department of Parasitology, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh, during the period from July to October 2004. Accordingly forty chickens naturally infected with ascarid parasite were selected for this experiment. The chickens were equally divided into 4 (A, B, C and D) groups. Group A was kept as infected control, while groups B, C and D were treated with piperazine citrate, levamisole and pineapple leaves extract, respectively. Although pineapple leaves extract showed less effectiveness in reducing parasite count in postmortem examination than piperazine citrate and levamisole but its use may be encouraging because of less adverse effects. In all treated groups total erythrocyte count (TEC), hemoglobin estimation (Hb) and packed cell volume (PCV) significantly (p < 0.01) increased and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and total leukocyte count (TLC) significantly (p < 0.01) decreased. Body weight was found to be increased following administration of piperazine citrate, levamisole and pineapple leaves extract. Key words: Piperazine citrate, levamisole, pineapple leaves, ascariasis, chicken doi:10.3329/bjvm.v4i1.1521 Bangl. J. Vet. Med. (2006). 4 (1): 27-29