Therapeutic and Safety Evaluation of Combined Aqueous Extracts ofAzadirachta indicaandKhaya senegalensisin Chickens Experimentally Infected withEimeriaOocysts

Abstract

Coccidiosis is a disease of economic importance in poultry causing morbidity and mortality. Reports show that Azadirachta indica and Khaya senegalensis have been used individually in the treatment of avian coccidiosis. We thus investigated the efficacy and safety of the combined aqueous extracts of these plants for the treatment of experimentally induced coccidiosis in broiler chickens using oocyst count, oxidative stress biomarkers, serum biochemistry, histology, and haematological parameters. The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of tannins, saponins, cardiac glycosides, and steroids in both extracts. In addition, alkaloids and flavonoids were present in Azadirachta indica. There was significant (p < 0.05) dose dependent decrease in oocyst count across the treatment groups with 400 mg/kg of the combined extract being the most efficacious dose. Immunomodulatory and erythropoietic activity was observed. There were decreased intestinal lesions and enhanced antioxidant activity across the treatment groups compared to the negative control. Administration of the combined extract did not cause damage to the liver as ALT, AST, and ALP levels were significantly reduced in the uninfected chickens treated with the extracts compared to control suggesting safety at the doses used. The combined aqueous extracts of K. senegalensis stem bark and Azadirachta indica leaves were ameliorative in chickens infected with coccidiosis.

Anticoccidial effect of garlic (Allium sativum) and ginger (Zingiber officinale) against experimentally induced coccidiosis in broiler chickens

“…The present study showed that Eimeria species lead to the degenerative changes in the positive control group while garlic supplementation decreased the intestinal lesion. Findings of the present study supported the findings of Gotep et al (2016) who reported the highest capacity of crypt and villi of small intestines by the addition of garlic in the broilers feed infected with coccidiosis. The results obtained in groups treated with amprolium and garlic powders may be due to the presence of the chemical hydrochloride in amprolium hydrochloride and allicin and phenolic compounds in garlic, which alter the cytoplasmic penetrability and finally damage the Eimeria cells.…”

Evaluation of the effect of Phyllanthus amarus, Jatropha curcas and Piliostigma thonningii on experimental chicken coccidiosis

“…The best growth performance and parasitological results were observed in Eimeria tenella infected chicks, treated with herb extracts with higher body weight gain, lower feed conversion ratio, light post mortem ceacal lesions, lower proportion of bloody droppings and significant fewer oocysts excretion, comparable to the conventional anticoccidian Vol.42 (2): 7269-7278. https://doi.org/10.35759/JAnmPlSci.v42-2.8 effect. The beneficial effect of medicinal plants in the control of avian coccidiosis was observed by several authors (Gotep et al, 2016;Dakpogan et al, 2018). The herein results agreed with many other findings about the effectiveness of herb extracts utilization against chicken coccidiosis.…”

Immunomodulatory Activity of Glycyrrhiza glabra Extract against Mixed Eimeria Infection in Chickens

“…A large number of research reports have shown that botanicals and their antioxidant compounds have excellent anticoccidial potential and proven to be best alternative to synthetic anticoccidial drugs Alzahrani et al, 2016;Fall et al, 2016;Gotep et al, 2016). Plants, rich in antioxidant compounds, have also shown remarkable immunomodulatory effects (Abbas et al, 2017a & b).…”