Effects of Tannic Acid Supplementation on Growth Performance, Oocyst Shedding, and Gut Health of in Broilers Infected with Eimeria Maxima

Simple Summary E. maxima, an intracellular protozoan parasite propagating in the jejunum, can cause severe negative effects on growth and gut health of chickens. Tannic acid (TA), a polyphenol compound that can precipitate proteins, was hypothesized to control E. maxima infection and attenuate its negative effects in broilers due to their antimicrobial, antioxidative, and anti-inflammatory effects. Our study showed that supplementation of TA reduced oocyst shedding of E. maxima. Supplementation of TA at the level of 500 to 2750 mg/kg reduced gut permeability, increased nutrient digestibility, and improved intestinal development in broilers infected with E. maxima. However, supplementation of 5000 mg/kg TA showed anti-nutritional effects including reducing growth performance, increasing gut permeability, and decreasing nutrient digestibility in broilers infected with E. maxima. In summary, supplementation of TA at the level of 500 to 2750 mg/kg showed potential as an anti-coccidial agent by decreasing oocyst shedding and improving nutrient digestibility and intestinal integrity in broilers infected with E. maxima. The purpose of this study was to evaluate effects of tannic acid (TA) on growth performance, fecal moisture content, oocyst shedding, gut permeability, lesion score, intestinal morphology, apparent ileal digestibility, and the antioxidant and immune system of broilers infected with Eimeria maxima. A total of 420 one-day-old broilers were distributed to five treatments with seven replicates of 12 birds. The five treatments were the (1) sham-challenged control (SCC; birds fed a control diet and administrated with PBS); (2) challenged control (CC; birds fed a control diet and inoculated with E. maxima); (3) tannic acid 0.5 (TA0.5; CC + 500 mg/kg TA); (4) tannic acid 2.75 (TA2.75; CC + 2750 mg/kg TA); and (5) tannic acid 5 (TA5; CC + 5000 mg/kg TA). The TA2.75 group had significantly lower gut permeability compared to the CC group at 5 days post-infection (dpi). Supplementation of TA linearly reduced oocyst shedding of E. maxima at 7 to 9 dpi (p < 0.05). At 13 dpi, the TA2.75 group had significantly greater apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) compared to the CC group. At 13 dpi, supplementation of TA linearly increased jejunal villus height (VH). Thus, this study showed that supplementation of TA at levels of 500 to 2750 mg/kg has the potential to be an anti-coccidial agent against E. maxima in broilers.