Indian Vet. J.

73, August, 1996: 871 - 873

THERAPEUTIC EVALUATION OF HERBAL ECTOPARASITICIDES AGAINST CANINE

DEMODICOSIS
S. Roy, S.K. Maiti and S.L. All
Department of Veterinary Medicine,
College of Vety. Sci. &A.H.,
Anjora, Durg - 491001 (M.P.)

Among all ectoparasitic infestations demodectic mange is the most obstinate,

persistent and problematic skin disease of canines (Chakrborty and Mishra, 1979). A large
number of acaricides namely organophosphorus compounds, Ivermectin and amitraz
have been used in the management of this disease in both generalized and localized cases.
But none of these are considered to be 100% effective without any adverse effect. It
has been reported that charmil a multiaction herbal gel is highly effective against
sarcoptic manage in pigs (Chhabra and Jakhar, 1994). Considering the importance of
demodicosis an attempt has been made to ascertain the efficacy and safety of herbal
ectoparasiticide AV/EPP/14' alone as well as with the multiaction skin gel, Charmil as co-
therapy developed by Dabur Ayurvet limited, Ghaziabad.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
For this study a total of sixteen dogs of different breeds and ages of both sexes
suffering from localized (10) and generalized (6) demodicosis were used. The mange was
diagnosed clinically and confirmed as demodectic mange by microscopical examination of
skin scraping.
The sixteen dogs were divided into 3 groups viz. A, B and C. Group A comprising
of 6 dogs (3 localized and 3 generalized) were treated topically with AV/EPP/14 alone at the
recommended dilution of 1:4 in water at 7 days interval till complete recovery. Group B
comprising of 6 dogs (3 localized and 3 generalized) were treated with AV/EPP/14 in the
same schedule as well as with charmil gel topically daily as co-therapy till complete
recovery. AV/EPP/14 was applied on the body with the help of hand sprayer in quantity
s u f f i c i e nt to ensure thorough soaking of the lesions. Group C consisting of 4 dogs with
localized lesions served as infected control. In generalized cases, dogs were also treated with
cephalexin (Ceff, M/s Lupin India) @ 10mg/kgb.wt. daily orally for 5 days. Evaluation of the
drug was done on the basis of clinical improvement and disappearance of mites in the skin
scrapings.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

There was appreciable improvement in all affected animals of both the treated groups
with regard to recovery of lesions on 14th day of treatment. However, improvement was
remarkable in t he dogs of group B where charmil gel was used as co-therapy. The gel
application apparently hastened the healing of irritated lesions in the group B dogs. No mites
were observed in the skin scrapings of all treated dogs on 20th day post-treatment. The
lesions healed completely and the skin became glossy and regained its normal texture
and color. In animals of group C the lesions remained active and became generalized during
the observation period. After one month post-treatment reinfection occurred in one dog of
group A. However, reinfection did not occur in any of the 11 other treated dogs for a
further observation period of two weeks (6 wks, post-treatment) Considering the
known recurrence of the demodicosis despite treatment, the performance of AV/EPP/
14 is rated as highly satisfactory. No untoward effects were observed in any of the
treated dogs. In long standing and generalized cases, where secondary bacterial invasion
leads to pus formation, appropriate antibiotic therapy as done in the present study for six
dogs is justified for quick recovery of skin health.
Generalized and pustular demodicosis in canines can be extremely intractable to treatment
(Soulsby, 1968) and there is risk of toxicity in the commonly used chemicals. Even
Ivermectin which is increasingly being used is discredited for having idiosyncrasy in dogs even in
normal doses (Paul, 1989). In the present study, AV/EPP/ 14 was found not only
efficacious in three weekly applications but also totally safe for animals and human
handlers. The acaricidal effects of charmil gel ingredients have been reported in sarcoptic
manage of buffaloes (Prajapatiand Hiregoudar, 1976) and sheep (Lai et al., 1976).
AV/EPP/14 formula being self emulsifiable concentrate, is easy to apply and totally non-irritant.
It's herbal ingredients, namely A corus Calamus (Deshmukh et al., 1982), Azadirachta
indica (Singh, 1983), Pongamia glabra (Kale and Pachgaonkar, 1969) Cedrus deodara
(Lai et a!., 1976) and Eucalyptus qlobulus (Chavan et al., 1982) are known for their
insecticidal, growth inhibitory, antimoulting, antifertility and insect repellent activities.
The combination in AV/EPP/1 4 apparently has the effect of synergistically enhancing these
actions.
SUMMARY
The efficacy of AV/EPP/14, a herbal ecto-parasiticide alone and with multiaction
charmil gel as co-therapy was evaluated against canine demodicosis in both generalized
and localized cases. Infected dogs were treated topically at 7 days interval with AV/EPP/14
with or without charmil gel daily application till complete recovery. The efficacy of the drug was
assessed on the basis of clinical improvement and disappearance of mites in the skin
scrapings. Three weekly application of AV/EPP/14 along with charmil gel as co-therapy gave highly
satisfactory results in the management of demodectic menge in dogs.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Authors are thankful to M/s Dabur Ayurvet limited, Ghaziabad for supply of AV/EPP/14
and charmil gel for this trial.
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