Potassium carbonate as an alternative solution for detecting Anoplocephalid eggs in horse faecal samples


GİRİŞGİN O., Gülegen E., GİRİŞGİN A. O., ÇIRAK V. Y.

BMC Veterinary Research, cilt.22, sa.1, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 22 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1186/s12917-025-05226-5
  • Dergi Adı: BMC Veterinary Research
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Anoplocephalid eggs, Detection, Horse, Potassium carbonate solution, Sugar solution
  • Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Background: Anoplocephalid species are responsible for causing tapeworm infection in horses. The disease may cause serious health issues, including discomfort, colic, and even intestinal perforation and death. A study was carried out to compare the detection rates of tapeworm eggs in naturally infected horses using two different examination solutions. For this purpose, faecal samples of 241 horses were examined with a combined sedimentation + centrifugation + flotation technique using saturated sugar solution (specific gravity (SG) = 1.30) as the basis and potassium carbonate (K2CO3) solution (SG = 1.45). Results: Tapeworm eggs were detected in 43 samples in saturated sugar solution and 59 samples in potassium carbonate solution (P < 0.05), whereas 42 samples were detected egg-positive in either. The potassium carbonate solution detected significantly more positive samples than the saturated sugar solution (P < 0.05). Conclusions: According to the results, potassium carbonate, as a non-toxic and high-density solution, can be a feasible alternative for detecting tapeworm eggs in horses.