Anticoccidial Efficacy of Citrus sinensis Essential Oil in
Broiler Chicken
Aqsa Imran1 and Abdullah Alsayeqh*2
1Department
of Parasitology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan;
2Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of
Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Buraidah
51452, Qassim, Saudi Arabia *Corresponding author:
a.alsayeqh@qu.edu.sa
Abstract
Due to the emergence of drug resistance against
synthetic chemicals, effective alternatives like essential oils are required for
the control of coccidiosis in poultry. Hence, the present in-vivo
experiment was conducted on Citrus (C.) sinensis essential oil for
investigation of its anticoccidial efficacy. For this purpose, 72 day-old chicks
were procured from local market and divided randomly into six equal groups:
A, B, C, D, E and F. On day 14, all the groups except F were administered
with 50,000 sporulated oocysts (mixed Eimeria species). On the same day,
groups A, B and C were given 1, 2 and 3% of C. sinensis essential oil,
respectively, in feed, group D with Toltrazuril® while groups E and F were left
unmedicated. The results revealed C. sinensis essential oil to have
positive effect on FCR in broilers. Moreover, there was a significant
improvement in oocysts per gram of faeces, lesion score, oocyst score and faecal
score in oil treated broilers at the maximum inclusion level of 3% comparable to
the standard control. However, apart from significant effect on WBCs count and
serum levels of ALT and LDH, C. sinensis essential oil had very limited
non-significant effect on hematological and serum biochemical parameters, and
organs’ weight. Thus, the present study provided C. sinensis essential
oil to be an alternate anticoccidial agent which can be used in coccidiosis
control programs after further validation.
To Cite This Article:
Imran A and Alsayeqh A, 2022.
Anticoccidial efficacy of Citrus
sinensis essential oil in broiler chicken.
Pak Vet J, 42(4): 461-466.
http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2022.082