title: Effects of Artemisia annua and Foeniculum vulgare on chickens highly infected with Eimeria tenella (phylum Apicomplexa).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Intensive poultry production systems depend on chemoprophylaxis with anticoccidial drugs to combat infection. A floor-pen study was conducted to evaluate the anticoccidial effect of Artemisia annua and Foeniculum vulgare on Eimeria tenella infection. Five experimental groups were established: negative control (untreated, unchallenged); positive control (untreated, challenged); a group medicated with 125 ppm lasalocid and challenged; a group medicated with A. annua leaf powder at 1.5% in feed and challenged; and a group treated with the mixed oils of A. annua and Foeniculum vulgare in equal parts, 7.5% in water and challenged. The effects of A. annua and oil extract of A. annua + F. vulgare on E. tenella infection were assessed by clinical signs, mortality, fecal oocyst output, faeces, lesion score, weight gain, and feed conversion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Clinical signs were noticed only in three chickens from the lasalocid group, six from the A. annua group, and nine from the A. annua + F. vulgare group, but were present in 19 infected chickens from the positive control group. Bloody diarrhea was registered in only two chickens from A. annua group, but in 17 chickens from the positive control group. Mortality also occurred in the positive control group (7/20). Chickens treated with A. annua had a significant reduction in faecal oocysts (95.6%; P = 0.027) and in lesion score (56.3%; P = 0.005) when compared to the positive control. At the end of experiment, chickens treated with A. annua leaf powder had the highest body weight gain (68.2 g/day), after the negative control group, and the best feed conversion (1.85) among all experimental groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that A. annua leaf powder (Aa-p), at 1.5% of the daily diet post-infection, can be a valuable alternative for synthetic coccidiostats, such as lasalocid.
authors.forename: Liviu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Drăgan
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases Department, University of Agricultural Science and Veterinary Medicine Cluj Napoca, 3-5 Calea Mănăştur, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania. titilincua@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Györke
authors.forename: Jorge F S
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: Ioan A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Pop
authors.forename: Ioan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Dunca
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Drăgan
authors.forename: Viorica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mircean
authors.forename: Iosif
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Dan
authors.forename: Vasile
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cozma
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D031172:Artemisia annua / Q000737:chemistry*; D002645:Chickens; D003048:Coccidiosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D003049:Coccidiostats / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004032:Diet / Q000662:veterinary; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000032:analysis; D016786:Eimeria tenella / Q000187:drug effects*; D030001:Foeniculum / Q000737:chemistry*; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000469:parasitology
chemical_list: D003049:Coccidiostats; D009822:Oils, Volatile
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