Growth of nematophagous fungi in the presence of anthelmintics drugs.

This study investigated the activity of commercial anthelmintics for ruminants based on levamisole hydrochloride 7.5% (Ripercol®), abamectin solution 1% (Calbos®) and albendazole sulphoxide solution 15% (Agebendazole®) on the growth of the nematophagous fungi: Arthrobotrys musiformis, Duddingtonia flagrans and Pochonia chlamydosporia. The formulations were diluted in proportional parts, creating four levels of dilution (DL1, DL2, DL3 and DL4). For albendazole and abamectin the concentrations for each diluted solution were 1, 10, 100, 1000 ppm and for levamisole the concentrations were 2.23, 22.3, 223 and 2230 ppm. The treatments were accompanied by: negative control (NC)- culture medium only (PDA 2%); positive control (PC)- culture medium with fungal strain; and water control (WC). The response for each species of fungus was carried out using a factorial scheme, with three drugs and four dilutions, tested with three repetitions. The results showed that the fungi A. musiformis and P. chlamydosporia suffered less influence on their growth under the action of the anthelmintics, unlike D. flagrans which suffered greater inhibition of its growth. The anthelmintic albendazole at concentrations of 1 and 10 ppm had a greater influence on fungal growth. Understanding the viability of these associations is fundamental to establishing protocols aimed at reducing the incidence of worms in cattle farming.