Study Of The Effects Of Plant Extracts On Preventing And Treating Chicken Coccidiosis

Chicken coccidiosis is one of the most serious diseases in the chicken raising industry.In South C hina,there are usually high temperatures and humidity throughout the year,which are favorable for the sporulation of coccidium oocysts,so this disease can be rampant.At present,control of this disease has mainly relied on antibiotic and chemical synthetic drugs,but if not used correctly for a long time,they may easily cause drug-resistance parasites and drug residues in meat,which have become the biggest obstacle in preventing and treating coccidiosis.Chinese medicinal herbs exist in nature universally,and they historically have been used to prevent and treat poultry diseases.Low cost,minor side effects and low drug resistance make them favorable therapeutics.In addition,many Chinese medicinal herbs,such as Artemisia annua and antifebrile dichroa have been shown to have anti-coccidium effects,so it is promising to treat chicken coccidiosis with Chinese medicinal herbs.In this study,the effects against chicken coccidiosis among 4 kinds of plant extract-based drugs,i.e.,Ailvshuang-1,Ailvshuang-2,Ailvshuang-3 and Ailvshuang-4,provided by the Beijing Ailv Company were assessed and compared.The 4 different drugs(different in formula)were mixed,respectively,into feed stuff at different concentrations.With a experimental coccidiosis model,three indices(relative weight gain,feed conversion ratio and oocyst reduction rate)were employed to judge the effects of Ailvshuang against coccidiosis.The results showed the effects of Ailvshuang in four different formulas were the following: Ailvshuang-2>Ailvshuang-1>Ailvshuang-4>Ailvshuang-3;and subsequently,Ailvshuang 2(0.75 g/kg)and Ailvshuang 1(0.75 g/kg)were chosen for subsequent tests.The effects of Ailvshuang-1 and Ailvshuang-2 against Eimeria Necatrix,E.Tenella,E.Maxima and E.Acervulina virulent strains were assessed respectively by several indices(survival rate,relative weight gain,feed conversion ratio and oocyst reduction rate or relative oocyst production),and an ionic drug-Monensin was set as control.The results showed that Ailvshuang-1 and Ailvshuang-2 could mitigate the weight loss caused by infection with E.necatrix and E.tenella and especially,Ailvshuang-1 has apparent effects in inhibiting the oocysts growth of E.necatrix.The effects of Ailvshuang-1 against E.maxima is superior than that of Ailvshuang-2,but much lower than that of Monensin group.Ailvshuang-1 and Ailvshuang-2 had a certain effect in the experiment against E.acervulina,but lower than Monensin group.In general,the plant extract Ailvshuang can promote the weight gain of chicken infected with coccidium and inhibit the oocysts growth,but lag behind Monensin.The anti-coccidium effects of Ailvshuang were assessed using separated clinically and mixed strains of E.tenella and E.acervulina.The indices used in this study were lesion scoring,oocyst value and ACI,In addition to survival rate,relative weight gain and feed conversion ratio.The results showed that clinically separated strains were resistant to Monensin.The experimental groups treated with Ailvshuang-2 had better results in relative weight gain,lesion value and ACI than that of Ailvshuang-1 and Monensin,and could be recognized as a low-effect anti-coccidium drug.Currently,problems such as drug-resistance parasites and drug residues in meat are quite serious.Plant extracts are promising in the prevention and treatment of chicken coccidiosis.As a preliminary exploration,this study showed that plant extracts Ailvshuang have some effects against chicken coccidium,but its effect is not as well as antibiotic Monensin.Further formula adjustment is required to achieve better anti-coccidium effects.