, 2007 and Lima et al., 2010). In this context, the search for alternatives to controlling gastrointestinal helminths in small ruminants has been widely encouraged. The use of nematophagous fungi in the formulations based on sodium alginate has been a promising option for in vivo and in vitro control in several parasites of domestic animals, including goats Perifosine mouse ( Paraud et al., 2007, Braga et al., 2009, Silva et al., 2011 and Ferreira et al., 2011). They produce traps that capture and fixate the nematodes, killing them by destroying their internal organs ( Araújo et al., 2007). The sodium alginate pellets containing fungi can be kept in stock and are made of inert

materials, which show potential for livestock use. After orally administration, the pellets can be excreted in feces for up to 120 h ( Araújo, 2009). Clinical parasitism does not occur when the nematophagous fungi are administered due to a larvae decrease in the pasture, reducing animal re-infection, leaving them able to

develop a natural immunity against nematodes ( Araújo, 1996). D. flagrans is the most studied fungal specie for the control of gastrointestinal helminths see more in domestic animals and is considered the most promising ( Larsen et al., 1998 and Faedo et al., 2002). Moreover, it has been successfully used for controlling helminth parasites in the livestock field ( Silva et al., 2009, Silva et al., 2010 and Tavela et al., 2011). This study’s objective was to evaluate the use of a pellet formulation in a sodium alginate matrix of D. flagrans in the biological control of goat gastrointestinal helminths in a native pasture of the semi-arid region of Paraíba state, northeastern Brazil. An isolate of D. flagrans (AC001) was maintained at 4 °C in the dark and in test tubes containing 2% of corn-meal-agar (2% CMA). The isolate, taken from soil in the region of Viçosa, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, was obtained by the method of soil spreading described by Duddington (1955), and modified by Santos et al. (1991). Fungal mycelia were obtained by transferring culture disks (approximately not 5 mm diameter) of fungal isolates in 2% CMA to

250 mL Erlenmeyer flasks with 150 mL liquid potato-dextrose medium (Difco), pH 6.5, and incubated under agitation of 120 × g in the dark at 26 °C, for 10 days. Mycelia were then removed for pelletizing using sodium alginate as described by Walker and Connick (1983) and modified by Lackey et al. (1993). The experiment was conducted at the Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG), Nupeárido farm, located in the city of Patos, Paraíba, northeastern Brazil, latitude 7°1′28″S, longitude 37°16′48″W, from March to August 2011. The region has a semi-arid climate with a rainy season from January to May, when occurs an average of 98.6% of annual rainfall, and a dry season from June to December (Vilela et al., 2008). An area of 2.