Fecal evaluation of sheep supplemented with zinc oxide nanoparticles and infected by H. contortus

• Grant number: 23/00598-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2023
• End date: February 28, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Helder Louvandini
• Grantee: Henrique de Brito Guedes
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 19/26042-8 - Nanoparticle of zinc oxide as a functional feed, AP.TEM

Abstract

The aim of this work plan is to study the effects of supplementing sheep with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO) and infected with H. contortus on egg counts and Zn content in feces. The experiment will consist of using 60 lambs divided into 6 treatments: Control without zinc supplementation (with and without H. contortus infection), micrometric ZnO (with and without H. contortus infection) and nanoparticle ZnO (with and without H. contortus infection). After 30 days from the start of supplementation, animals in the infected group received 500 L3 H. contortus/week for 5 months. Egg counts per gram of feces (EFG) and determination of trace element zinc will be performed monthly.