fullscreen

eFinder

eFinder

Home › Article

Deworming products for grazing animals may disrupt food chains

Phys · · 590 words · By Kiel University
headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing
Generate a natural audio summary of this story
Daily briefing

What to know about Deworming products for grazing animals may disrupt food chains

Researchers from Kiel and Trier Universities studied the impact of the deworming agent moxidectin on a simplified food chain consisting of strawberry plants, aphids, and hoverflies. The study found that the chemical reduced fruit production and disrupted the ecological balance between the species, leading the authors to call for broader ecological assessments of veterinary medicines.

Propaganda risk 0%
Claims checked 12
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Deworming products for grazing animals may disrupt food chains Lisa Lock Scientific Editor Robert Egan Senior Editor Researchers from Kiel University and Trier University have shown, for the first time, that a widely used deworming product for grazing animals…

Why it matters

The active ingredient investigated was moxidectin in the formulation Cydectin, which farmers commonly use against parasites in grazing animals.

Common ground

Until now, it was known that deworming agents can affect individual species: Seeds of typical grassland plants, for example, change their germination behavior when they come into contact with deworming products.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Researchers from Kiel and Trier Universities studied the impact of the deworming agent moxidectin on a simplified food chain consisting of strawberry plants, aphids, and hoverflies. The study found that the chemical reduced fruit production and disrupted the ecological balance between the species, leading the authors to call for broader ecological assessments of veterinary medicines.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-08-deworming-products-grazing-animals-disrupt.html

analyticsAnalysis

0%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 100%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 4
check_circle Corroborated 3
schedule Pending 2
help Insufficient Evidence 2
verified Verified By Reference 1
info
Claim 1: “Under its influence, the strawberry plants produced roughly a quarter fewer fruits”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific result regarding a 25% reduction in strawberry fruit is not found in any of the provided evidence; the evidence for this claim only contains general Wikipedia entries about strawberries.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Darryl Eugene Strawberry Sr. (born March 12, 1962) is an American former professional baseball right fielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Throughout his career, Strawberry was…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darryl_Strawberry
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; Fragaria × ananassa) is a widely grown hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus Fragaria, the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosace…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawberry
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Strawberry is commonly the cultivated garden strawberry, Fragaria × ananassa. Strawberry or Strawberries may also refer to: Fragaria, the strawberry genus, or any of its species Mock strawberry, the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawberry_(disambiguation)
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 2: “Researchers from Kiel University and Trier University have shown, for the first time, that a widely used deworming product for grazing animals doesn't just harm individual plants and insects but also alters entire networks of ecological relationships.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim is found in a web search result that appears to be a press release or a news summary of the study. While it mentions Kiel and Trier Universities, there are no other independent news organizations or academic citations provided in the evidence to corroborate this specific finding.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Kiel University (German: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founde…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiel_University
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Saarland University (German: Universität des Saarlandes, pronounced [univɛʁziˈtɛːt dɛs ˈzaːɐ̯landəs]) is a public research university located in Saarbrücken, the capital of the German state of Saarlan…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saarland_University
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The University of Bayreuth (German: Universität Bayreuth) is a public research university located in Bayreuth, Germany. It is one of the youngest German universities. It is broadly organized into seve…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Bayreuth
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 3: “The active ingredient investigated was moxidectin in the formulation Cydectin, which farmers commonly use against parasites in grazing animals.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources confirm that Cydectin is a formulation containing the active ingredient moxidectin used for parasite control in grazing animals.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Cydectin® (moxidectin) Injectable. Look to a trusted dewormer brand that provides persistent control of key internal parasites in an easy-to-use formulation with a short withdrawal period.1 Parasites …
https://farmanimal.elanco.com/us/beef/products/cydectin-inje…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The active ingredient investigated was moxidectin in the formulation Cydectin, which farmers commonly use against parasites in grazing animals.
https://phys.org/news/2026-08-deworming-products-grazing-ani…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Cydectin products contain an active ingredient called moxidectin, which is part of the milbemycin chemical group. Its unique molecular structure allows for wide distribution in the animal’s fat deposi…
https://www.pbsanimalhealth.com/blog/learning-center/b/cydec…
schedule
Claim 4: “Andrés García et al, Effects of a formulation of the veterinary drug moxidectin on the performance of a plant-insect food chain, Science of The Total Environment (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2026.181822”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 5: “Seeds of typical grassland plants, for example, change their germination behavior when they come into contact with deworming products.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific claim that deworming products change the germination behavior of grassland plants is mentioned in one web search result. Other results discuss germination in general but not in the context of deworming agents.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Until now, it was known that deworming agents can affect individual species: seeds of typical grassland plants, for example, change their germination behavior when they come into contact with dewormin…
https://www.uni-kiel.de/en/details/news/deworming-products-f…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Higher concentrations slow germination and reduce final germination in one seed lot, while the second seed lot shows little response except at the highest concentration. Figure 1. ‘Tirem’ cumulative g…
https://turf.umn.edu/can-germination-stimulants-help-kentuck…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — typical of various grassland habitats in Central Europe. We explored the germination response of these spe-. cies to three different durations of warm dry and cold.production on seed dormancy and germi…
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/394503235_Effect_of…
check_circle
Claim 6: “Beetle and fly larvae that live in the dung of treated grazing animals show lower survival rates.”
CORROBORATED
Two separate web search results (one appearing to be a news summary and another a livestock management guide) confirm that beetle and fly larvae in the dung of treated animals show lower survival rates.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Beetle and fly larvae that live in the dung of treated grazing animals show lower survival rates.Livestock farmers use deworming agents to keep their animals healthy and farm economically, so doing wi…
https://phys.org/news/2026-08-deworming-products-grazing-ani…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Stop Blanket Deworming: Treat only the animals that show signs of distress (anemia, rough coat, poor weight gain) or those with high Fecal Egg Counts. This leaves a “refugia” of untreated parasites an…
https://www.ecosnippets.com/livestock-animals/how-to-attract…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Beetle and fly larvae living in the feces of treated grazing animals show lower survival rates.Grazing livestock farmers use deworming agents to keep their animals healthy and operate efficiently. The…
https://www.yumda.com/en/news/1189512/deworming-medication-f…
help
Claim 7: “the aphids multiplied tenfold—but only when no hoverfly larvae were present.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to support or refute the claim about aphid multiplication rates.
schedule
Claim 8: “However, these eggs were more variable in size and appeared less viable.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 9: “For their study, now published in Science of The Total Environment, the researchers built a simplified food chain model that combined three species: the cultivated strawberry, the green peach aphid and the marmalade hoverfly.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific study design (strawberry, aphid, hoverfly) and its publication in 'Science of The Total Environment' are mentioned in one web search result. While the journal exists (verified by Wikipedia), the specific study details are not corroborated by other sources.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable explanations about nature and society. It is driven by the scientific method: an empirical cycle that typ…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Science of the Total Environment is a weekly international peer-reviewed scientific journal covering environmental science. It was established in 1972 and is published by Elsevier. The editors-in-chie…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_of_the_Total_Environme…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — TotalEnergies SE is a French multinational integrated energy and petroleum company founded in 1924 and is one of the seven supermajor oil companies. Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TotalEnergies
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 10: “Animals' bodies break the substance down only to a small extent. As a result, a large proportion of it ends up in the soil via the dung of treated animals—or when farmers fertilize their fields with slurry or solid manure.”
CORROBORATED
The claim that moxidectin is poorly metabolized and passes unchanged into the soil via dung is supported by both a general news summary and a specific PDF research document on the effects of moxidectin on dung.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Moxidectin is an anthelmintic drug used in animals to prevent or control parasitic worms (helminths), such as heartworm and intestinal worms, in dogs, cats, horses, cattle, sheep and wombats.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moxidectin
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The active ingredient investigated was moxidectin in the formulation Cydectin, which farmers commonly use against parasites in grazing animals.
https://phys.org/news/2026-08-deworming-products-grazing-ani…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — through a combination of hand-searching cattle dung, and dung-baited pitfall.Macrocyclic lactones (MLs) are chemical compounds administered to livestock for parasite control. These compounds are poorl…
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345689397_Effects_o…
help
Claim 11: “Females that visited flowers of treated plants laid four times as many eggs.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to support or refute the claim about hoverfly egg-laying rates.
verified
Claim 12: “The product studied contains the active ingredient moxidectin, which belongs to the group of macrocyclic lactones—long-acting antiparasitic agents.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and other medical/veterinary sources confirm moxidectin is an anthelmintic (antiparasitic) drug. While the specific term 'macrocyclic lactones' is mentioned in the PDF evidence for claim 5, the general classification is widely accepted in veterinary science.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Moxidectin is an anthelmintic drug used in animals to prevent or control parasitic worms (helminths), such as heartworm and intestinal worms, in dogs, cats, horses, cattle, sheep and wombats. [5] Moxi…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moxidectin
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Sep 27, 2023 · Moxidectin is a prescription medication that's used to treat a parasitic infection called onchocerciasis (also known as river blindness) in people 12 years and older. It works by paraly…
https://www.goodrx.com/moxidectin/what-is
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Feb 1, 2026 · Description Moxidectin is used to treat river blindness (onchocerciasis) caused by the roundworm parasite Onchocerca volvulus. This medicine is available only with your doctor's prescrip…
https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/moxidectin-oral…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.