In vitro Efficacy of Herbal Extracts against Eimeria tenella

Effect of leaves of Curcuma (C.) longa, seeds of Artemisia (A.) absinthium and roots of Saussurea (S.) lappa was evaluated on sporulation of Eimeria (E.) tenella under laboratory conditions. The oocysts used in this study were obtained by challenging the 14th day-old broiler chicks with 75,000 sporulated oocysts of E. tenella. The harvested oocysts were exposed to various doses of the 70% aqueous-methanolic herbal extracts (0.244-500 mu g mL(-1)). The oocysts were provided 27.5 degrees C temperature with 60-80% humidity and continuous aeration. The yield (w/w) of C. longa, A. absinthium and S. lappa, was 46.2, 45.9 and 47.5%, respectively. Inhibition of sporulation was criterion for evaluation of the efficacy. The herbal extracts exhibited graded dose response on sporulation of E. tenella as evident by their lethal concentration (LC50) values. LC50 values of C. longa, A. absinthium and S. lappa were 173.4, 221.3 and 960.6 mu g mL(-1), respectively. C. longa demonstrated the highest inhibitory effects on sporulation of E. tenella oocysts. (C) 2015 Friends Science Publishers