Effect of herbal preparation Artemisia absinthium on honeybees infected with Nosema ceranae microsporidia under laboratory conditions.

BACKGROUND

Treatment of honey bee nosemosis is complicated by the ban on the use of antibiotics, which contaminate bee products. A search for environmentally friendly preparations aimed at suppressing the development of nosemosis pathogens is underway.

AIM: The effect of herbal preparations Artemisia absinthium L. tincture and «HB-101»on the development of the nosemosis pathogen, Nosema ceranae, was studied.

METHODS

Three experimental groups and one control group were formed to test the preparations. Three days after infection, the groups were fed the preparations-«HB-101», «Fumagilin-B», 1.5% tincture of wormwood four times within an interval of 3 days. The average number of spores in a bee and the probability of survival were determined at the end of the experiment.

RESULTS

As a result of the experiment, it was confirmed that the most effective preparation was 1.5% tincture of A. absinthium (1.76 ± 0.47 million of spores), compared to the control group 4.94 ± 1.00 million spores per bee (q'=3.285, p ≤ 0.01). The approved preparation «Fumagilin-B» significantly reduced the number of spores to 2.13 ± 0.47 million spores. The preparation «HB-101» slightly reduced the count to 2.53 ± 0.66 million spores per bee. Together with the suppression of the development of the causative agent of nosemosis, the survival probability was also reduced. The greatest influence on survivability (p ≤ 0.01) was noted in 1.5% tincture of wormwood (0.073 ± 0.010) and preparation of «Fumagilin-B» (0.088 ± 0.005) compared with the control group (0.187 ± 0.008). Preparation «HB-101» reduced the probability of survival (p ≤ 0.05) to 0.161 ± 0.007.

CONCLUSION

Wormwood tincture is a promising drug for nosemosis treatment.