Abstract: The potential anticoccidial activity of Eupatorium adenophorum extracts was evaluated against coccidian oocysts which are common parasites in poultry farms. Fresh unsporulated coccidian oocysts were exposed to 2, 1.5, 1 or 0.5% of E. adenophorum extracts and the sporulation rate was measured after 72 h. A total of 80 chickens were inoculated with those attenuated oocysts. After 1 week, the birds were challenged with 1x105 untreated fresh sporulated oocysts and the survival rate, Oocyst Per Gram feces (OPG), cecum lesion score, body weight gain rate and Anticoccidal Index (ACI) were measured and calculated on the 8th day after the challenge infection. The extracts of E. adenophorum were found to be significantly effective against coccidian oocyst activity (p<0.05). These results indicate that E. adenophorum may potentially be a new alternative for effective and environmentally-friendly control of coccidiosis. The results also have important implications for the development of attenuated coccidiosis vaccine.
J.F. Yang, R.Q. Wang , R.Q. Lv , D.H. Zhou , G. Duan and F.C. Zou , 2012. Anticoccidial Activity of Eupatorium adenophorum Extracts Against Chicken Coccidian Oocysts. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 11: 1255-1257.