Protective effect of berberine on the intestinal caecum in chicks with Eimeria tenella.

Avian coccidios, caused by Eimeria, has been shown to cause weight loss and bloody diarrhoea, and sometimes even death of chicks, which subsequently has a serious negative impact on the development of the poultry industry. Berberine is a Chinese traditional medicine for intestinal disorders, which has been shown to have preventive effects on intestinal epithelium that has been exposed to external damage. In the present study, anticoccidial activity of berberine was tested in vivo using Eimeria tenella, on its effects on daily weight gain, bloody diarrhoea, oocyst production, thickness and lesions of caecum. The data confirmed that infected chicks with Eimeria tenella started to show classic clinical symptoms on day 4-5 post-infection, such as ruffled feathers, bloody diarrhoea and reduced weight gain. There was significant reduction in oocyst production of berberine treated chicks except those infected by oocysts pretreated with berberine. The caecum epithelia thickness and lesions were significantly higher in the infected/untreated chicks than those in uninfected/untreated and infected/treated chicks. The results of this study indicate that continuous prophylactic treatment with berberine significantly improved the pathogenic conditions. It is concluded, that berberine is likely to work through preventing caecum epithelium barrier damage from Eimeria tenella by suppressing the reproduction of Eimeria tenella and restoring the normal functions of chicks' caecum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]