Influence of Artemisia absinthium essential oil on antioxidative system of broilers experimentally infected with Eimeria oocysts

peer-reviewed
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Artemisia absinthium essential oil (AAEO) on the enzymatic activity of superoxide-dismutase (SOD), glutathione-peroxidase (GSHPx), glutathione-reductase (GR), peroxidase (POD) and xanthine-oxidase (XOD) and the content of lipid peroxides (LPx) and glutathione (GSH) in broilers infected with an oocyst mixture of Eimeria tenella, Eimeria mitis and Eimeria necatrix, compared to coccidicide salinomycine. The investigation was carried out on 240 Arbour acres broilers of both sexes. Broilers were distributed completely randomly into four treatment groups: treatment group A was uninfected and untreated; treatment group B was infected and kept untreated; treatment group C preventively received coccidicide salinomycine in a dose of 60 mg/kg of feed and inoculated with an oocyst mixture on the 21st day-of-age; treatment group D received AAEO in their feed in a dose of 3 g/kg and were infected with the oocyst mixture on the 21st day of age. During the study, bloody diarrhoea was observed from the 3rd to 9th day after the challenge. After six days of infection, the most intensive bloody diarrhoea was noticed in the un-medicated treatment group. In order to evaluate the effects of essential oil on poultry coccidiosis induced by Eimeria spp., oocysts per gram of faeces (OPG) were also investigated in all treatment groups. During the experiment, the oocyst output and mortality rate were significantly lower (P
The paper is a part of the research work on the project III 46012 financed by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia.