Eprinomectin in goat: assessment of subcutaneous administration

Abstract.

Eprinomectin is only available as a topically applied anthelmintic for dairy cattle. To determine whether eprinomectin can be administered in the goat as an injectable formulation, it was subcutaneously delivered to six goats and measured in the plasma at different times after administration. The area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) reported after subcutaneous administration of 0.2 mg kg^–1 eprinomectin (68.5±23.2 ng day^–1 ml^–1) was similar to the AUC previously reported for goats after a pour-on administration of 0.5 mg kg^–1 eprinomectin. Thus, our results clearly show that subcutaneous administration is 2.5 times more effective than pour-on administration, in terms of amount of drug present in the organism. This work should encourage the development of a subcutaneous formulation of eprinomectin and should contribute to defining optimal therapeutic conditions for goat anthelmintic treatment.