Assessment of the protective effect of Artemisia herba-alba Asso against Eimeria tenella induced coccidiosis in broilers

Abstract

Background: The present study was designed to investigate the protective effect of a natural product to control coccidiosis in broilers. We studied the effect of the dried leaves of Artemisia herba alba Asso supplement against artificially induced coccidiosis in broilers. Methods: One hundred twenty chickens were allocated into four equal groups of thirty, negative control (UUG), positive control (IUG), Monensin-treated Group (MTG), and Artemisia-treated group (ATG). The infected chickens with E. tenella were treated with 100ppm of monensin and, 5% of Artemisia in the feed. Results: No mortality was recorded in ATG animals. Oocysts excretion was significantly (p<0.05) reduced in ATG animals at the 6th and the 8th days post-infection. The highest reduction of oocysts shedding in faecal samples (79.04%) was in Artemisia-treated chickens. The effect of Artemisia was comparable to that of monensin. Conclusion: Artemisia herba alba Asso is of particular interest in fighting coccidiosis since it has a preventive effect on mortality and reduction of oocysts faecal shedding during caecal coccidiosis.