Xiang-Qi-Tang (XQT) is a Chinese medicine containing Rhizoma Cyperi (40 g), Andrographis paniculata (30 g) and Astragalus membranaceus (30 g). The purpose of this study is to investigate the therapeutic effects of XQT on Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC)-infected chickens. The chickens were pretreated with XQT 12 h before being inoculated with 10⁸ colony forming unit (CFU) of APEC by subcutaneous injection, and then the mortality and the indexes of health status of chicken in each group were detected. The results showed that high dosage and middle dosage of XQT could significantly decrease the mortality of the chickens challenged with APEC. We further found that XQT improved the infected chickens’ health status through improving the water consumption, feed intake, bodyweight gain, routine blood parameters and decreasing the incidences of pericarditis and perihepatitis. The results of present study suggest that XQT can effectively treat chicken colibacillosis as a potential agent.

Key words: Chicken colibacillosis, Escherichia coli, Herbal medicine