Can the intake of antiparasitic secondary metabolites explain the low prevalence of hemoparasites among wild Psittaciformes?
Juan F MaselloJavier MartínezLuciano CalderónMichael WinkPetra QuillfeldtVirginia SanzJörn TheuerkaufLuis Ortiz-CatedralIgor BerkunskyDianne BruntonJosé A Díaz-LuqueMark E HauberValeria OjedaAntoine BarnaudLaura CasalinsBethany JacksonAlfredo MijaresRomel RosalesGláucia SeixasPatricia SerafiniAdriana Silva-IturrizaElenise SipinskiRodrigo A VásquezPeter WidmannIndira WidmannSantiago MerinoPublished in: Parasites & vectors (2018)
The consumption of food items known for their secondary metabolites with antimalarial, trypanocidal or general antiparasitic properties, as well as the higher proportion of infected species among omnivorous parrots, could explain the low prevalence of hemoparasites reported in many vertebrates.