Clinical efficacy of botanical extracts from Eupatorium adenophorum against the Sarcoptes scabiei (Sarcoptidae: Sarcoptes) in rabbits

The aims of present study were to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of extracts from Eupatorium adenophorum against Sarcoptes scabiei. A 30-day experiment was performed using New Zealand rabbits that were naturally infested with S. scabiei in the toes (n = 30) or artificially infected in the external ear margin with S. scabiei (n = 30). Rabbits were randomly divided into five groups (6 animals per group, A-E groups for rabbits of naturally infested and F-J groups for artificially infected rabbits), respectively. All 60 rabbits were treated twice on days 0 and 7 successively. Animals in groups A/F, B/G, and C/H were treated on each toe/external ear margin with topical E. adenophorum ethanol extract at 1.0, 0.5 and 0.25 g/ml (w/v), respectively. Animals in groups D/I and E/J were treated with ivermectin by injections (positive controls) or by glycerol with water only rubbed onto the affected area (negative controls). After two treatments with extracts of E. adenophorum with relatively high concentrations of 0.5 and 1 g/ml, the S. scabiei was completely eliminated in rabbits between days 14 and 30. Our results showed that rabbits treated with ivermectin (positive controls) and those treated with the extracts of concentrations of 1.0 or 0.5 g/ml achieved remarkable therapeutic efficacy; no mites were present in toes of rabbits in these groups on day 14, which confirmed a 100% therapeutic efficacy rate up to day 30 of the end of the trial. The clinical effects of treatment with 1.0 and 0.5 g/ml E. adenophorum extracts (groups A and B) were similar to ivermectin treatment. However, the therapeutic efficacy in group C and E rabbits only reached 43.25% and 7.13% by day 14. Furthermore, the therapeutic efficacy improved slightly by the end of the experiment on day 30, and rabbits in groups F, G and I also achieved good efficacy according to the recovery scoring criteria. These results indicate that E. adenophorum contains potent compounds for the effective control of sarcoptidosis.