Anticoccidial evaluation of a traditional Chinese medicine--Brucea javanica--in broilers.

The traditional Chinese medicinal plant Brucea javanica has received much attention for its significant antiprotozoal effects in recent years; however, little is known about its potential anticoccidial functions. In the present study, a series of experiments was conducted to investigate the prophylactic and therapeutic effects of ethanol extract from B. javanica on coccidiosis induced by Eimeria tenella in broiler chickens. Chickens infected with E. tenella were treated with B. javanica extract and compared either with broilers treated with the anticoccidial halofuginone hydrobromide (Stenorol) or with control groups that consisted of infected-unmedicated and uninfected-unmedicated broilers. The experiments revealed that the B. javanica extract could significantly (P<0.05) reduce bloody diarrhea and lesion scores. Additional, OPG output in these plant extract treated groups was reduced in comparison with non-treated groups (P<0.05). However, there was no evidence to show that the extract could promote BWG. Histological data showed that the number of second-generation schizonts in the medicated groups was substantially less than that in the infected-unmedicated control. In summary, our work showed that B. javanica extract exerted considerable anticoccidial effects, supporting its use as a promising therapeutic in controlling avian coccidiosis.