Rabie H Fayed

Coccidiosis is the most serious protozoal disease of poultry industry worldwide. Infected birds shed the infective oocysts in high numbers in the droppings which enables the persistence of the disease in the flock. Traditionally, the infection is controlled by chemical anticoccidial preparations. However, the extensive use of chemical preparations represented a serious problem to public health and lead to the emergence of resistant coccidian strains. To overcome this problem, commercial herbal products are available since the last few decades. The present work aims to evaluate and compare the efficiency of the anti-coccidial herbal product (Herb-All COCC-X) and the chemical preparation (Maxiban 160) in the control of coccidiosis in broilers and to determine their effect on shed oocysts. For this purpose, 320 one-day-old broiler chicks were randomly and equally divided in four groups. All groups (with the exception of the negative control group) were subjected to an infection with Eimeria acervulina and Eimeria tenella. One group was treated with Herb-All COCC-X, the second with Maxiban 160, and the third remained untreated as a positive control group. The birds were slaughtered after 41 days for PM examination. The oocysts count in droppings was significantly lower in both treated groups in comparison to the positive control one. The efficiency of Herb-All COCC-X was significantly higher than that of Maxiban 160in the reduction of the number and sporulation potential of shed oocyst. Other parameters including the FCR, body weight gain, and mortality rate did not vary significantly in both treated groups.

Since thousands of years, herbal products were used for medical purposes in old cultures. The present trend to re-discover the medical potential of herbs started to grow with the general awareness of the medical hazards of several chemical pharmaceutical preparations. Similarly, for several decades, antibiotics, Coccidiostat and other chemical feed additives were massively used in animal husbandry. However, due to their negative impact on consumer health, they were banned in many countries. The present work discusses some natural alternative available for use in human and veterinary medical fields. The number of commercially available herbal products increases rapidly in the markets worldwide and are expected to overtake the number of pharmaceuticals of chemical origin in food sector in the future.