الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Avian coccidiosis, an important protozoal disease of chicken caused by coccidian protozoa of the genus Eimeria (E), causes considerable economic losses to broiler producers. Present study was aimed to evaluate the potential anticoccidial efficacy of Origanum majoranum aqueous extracts (O. majoranum AEs) on E. tenella-infected broiler chickens. Six experimental groups were established: 3 negative controls (untreated-unchallenged, treated with cold extract-unchallenged, and treated with hot extract-unchallenged) and 3 positive controls (untreated-challenged with sporulated oocysts of E. tenella, treated with cold extract-challenged with sporulated oocysts of E. tenella, and treated with hot extract-challenged with sporulated oocysts of E. tenella). Anticoccidial efficacy of O. majoranum AEs was evaluated by several parameters including: complete blood picture (CBC), serum chemistry, serum protein electrophoresis, antioxidants markers, cecal oocysts count, and cecal lesions score. In brief, collected data indicated that hot O. majoranum AE supplementation could reduce E. tenella infection in form of alleviated changes occurred in the CBC, serum chemistry, and serum protein fractions, increased antioxidants, and reduced cecal oocysts count and cecal lesion scores in infected chickens. Therefore, it can be concluded that hot O. majoranum AE has an anticoccidial efficacy on E. tenella-infected chickens and can be used as alternative remedy against avian coccidiosis. Key words: Origanum majoranum, aqueous extracts, Eimeria tenella, chicken |