May Citrus Extract Provide Anti-Giardial Therapeutic Efficacy

Abstract

In this study, it was aimed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of the bitter orange extract in goat kids with giardiasis. A total of sixteen goat kids detected to be infected with Giardia duodenalis at the age of 12 to 68 days were enrolled in the study. Goat kids were randomly assigned into two groups, whereas goat kids in the control group (n= 8) without receiving any drug and group (n=10) received oral bitter orange extract at a dosage of 10 ml/goat kids for seven days. Anti-giardial therapeutic efficacy of bitter orange extract was determined by oocyst shedding interpreted with a microscopical examination of fecal samples on days 0 and 10. It was revealed that the therapeutic efficacy of orange bitter extract as compared with control was 99.9% on day 10. In conclusion, this significant decrease of oocyst shedding supports the anti-giardial activity of bitter orange extract and shows that it might be an alternative in the treatment of giardiasis. © 2021 Ataturk Universitesi. All rights reserved.