Antiparasitic Tannin-Rich Plants from the South of Europe for Grazing Livestock: A Review.

Simple Summary: The systematic use of different antiparasitic products over time has led to several problems, such as drug resistances and biodiversity loss, which directly affect extensive livestock farming. Considering the current scenario, alternative approaches for parasite control are needed. This review study presents different Mediterranean tannin-rich plants with anthelmintic effect, which can be used as fodder or voluntarily grazed by livestock as a strategy to reduce the use of antiparasitic drugs. Internal parasites are one of the main causes of health threats in livestock production, especially in extensive livestock farming. Despite the environmental toxic effects (loss of dung beetles, biodiversity, and other issues) and resistance phenomenon derived from their prolonged use, anti-parasitic chemical pharmaceuticals are frequently used, even in organic farming. Such a situation within the context of climate change requires urgent exploration of alternative compounds to solve these problems and apparent conflicts between organic farming objectives regarding the environment, public health, and animal health. This review is focused on some plants (Artemisia spp., Cichorium intybus L., Ericaceae family, Hedysarum coronarium L., Lotus spp., Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) that are well known for their antiparasitic effect, are voluntarily grazed and ingested, and can be spontaneously found or cultivated in southern Europe and other regions with a Mediterranean climate. The differences found between effectiveness, parasite species affected, in vitro/in vivo experiments, and active compounds are explored. A total of 87 papers where antiparasitic activity of those plants have been studied are included in this review; 75% studied the effect on ruminant parasites, where gastrointestinal nematodes were the parasite group most studied (70%), and these included natural (31%) and experimental (37%) infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]