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The aim of this study was to evaluate the predatory activity of the fungus Duddingtonia flagrans (AC001) on infective larvae of Ancylostoma ceylanicum after gastrointestinal transit in hamsters. Twenty animals were used in the experiment, divided into two groups: a treated group (10 animals) and a control group (10 animals). In the group treated with D. flagrans, each animal received mycelium from the AC001 isolate, at an oral dose of 5 mg/25 g of live weight. To evaluate the predatory activity of the fungus, fecal samples were collected from the animals in both groups, at the times of 6, 8, 12, 24 and 36 hours after the treatment. Then, subsamples of 2 g of feces were placed in Petri dishes containing 2% water-agar (2% WA) culture medium and 1000 L3 of A. ceylanicum. Over the study period, the following percentage reductions were observed: 43.2% (6 hours), 30.8% (8 hours), 25.8% (12 hours), 30% (24 hours) and 11% (36 hours). The fungus D. flagrans presented predatory activity on the L3 of A. ceylanicum, after passing through the hamsters' gastrointestinal tract. It was therefore concluded that the fungus D. flagrans may be an alternative for biological control of the L3 of A. ceylanicum.

Viability and in vitro and in vivo activities of freeze-dried conidia of the predatory fungus Arthrobotrys robusta (I-31) were evaluated against infective larvae (L(3)) of Ancylostoma spp. in dogs. A. robusta conidia were lyophilized and stored at 4°C for a month. Freeze-dried conidia were diluted to 1×10(3)conidia/ml and tested in vivo. The treated group consisted of a solution containing conidia (1ml) and 1000 Ancylostoma spp. (L(3)) placed on Petri dishes plated with 2% water-agar (2% WA), at 25°C, in the dark for 10 days. The control group consisted of 1000 Ancylostoma spp. L(3), plated on 2% WA. After 10 days, Ancylostoma spp. L(3) from both the treated and the control groups were recovered and counted. The in vivo test was performed on two dogs by administering a single oral dose of freeze-dried conidia (1.5×10(5)) in aqueous solution to one animal and only water to the other. Fecal samples were collected at 12, 24 and 48h after the treatments, plated 2% WA plates and incubated at 25°C for 15 days. A thousand Ancylostoma spp. L(3) larvae were spread on these plates. At day 15, infective L(3) recovered from the treated and control groups were counted. In the in vitro test, A. robusta was able to survive the freeze-drying process, grow in the plates, form traps and capture Ancylostoma spp. L(3). There was a 75.38% decrease in the number of infective larvae recovered from the treated group. The in vivo test showed that freeze-dried A. robusta conidia survived the passage through the gastrointestinal tract of the treated dog, was able to grow in the plates and capture Ancylostoma spp. L(3), reducing the number of recovered L(3) (p<0.01). Freeze-drying can be an alternative method for conservation of conidia of nematophagous fungi., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Ancylostoma sp is a potentially zoonotic geohelminth., Methods: This study aimed to evaluate in vitro the action of crude enzyme extract of Pochonia chlamydosporia (VC4) on eggs of Ancylostoma sp in 2% water-agar and in fecal cultures., Results: The percentage reduction in Ancylostoma sp egg eclosion was 76.8% in Petri dishes of the treated group compared to the control group., Conclusions: The crude enzyme extract of Pochonia chlamydosporia was effective at reducing Ancylostoma sp egg eclosion and can be used as biological control of this nematode.