Modern Pharmacognostic Investigation of Harmal
Ephraim Shmaya Lansky, Shifra Lansky, Helena Maaria Paavilainen in Harmal, 2017
Tanweer et al. (2014), from the Gomal College of Veterinary Sciences in Pakistan, divided 200 1-week-old broiler chickens into five groups: negative control, positive control receiving a standard dose of coccidiosis with no P. harmala, and three groups of chickens receiving the coccidiosis challenge plus 200, 250, or 300 mg/l of a methanolic extract of P. harmala seeds in their drinking water. The untreated positive controls developed the symptoms of coccidiosis with weight loss and depression of the feed conversion ratio. The birds receiving the harmal in days 14–35 showed diminution or reversal of these symptoms at a rate commensurate with the concentration of the P. harmala extract. Since the market increasingly eschews chickens treated with antibiotics—the standard treatment for coccidiosis is sulfa-drugs—P. harmala represents an attractive alternative.
Various Applications of Artemisia annua L. (Qinghao)
Tariq Aftab, M. Naeem, M. Masroor, A. Khan in Artemisia annua, 2017
Avian coccidiosis is one of the most economically important diseases of the poultry industry, caused by apicomplexan parasites belonging to the genus Eimeria. There are seven species in this genus that affect chickens, with E. tenellabeing one of the most pathogenic (McDouglad and Reid, 1991). Infection with E. tenella is followed by caecal lesions (petechiae, thickening, ecchymoses, accumulation of blood, and caseous necrotic material in the caecum), accompanied with bloody diarrhea (Iacob and Duma, 2009). Intensive poultry production systems depend on chemoprophylaxis with anticoccidial drugs to combat infection. Anticoccidial drugs have been used for over 60 years, and their extensive use has led to the development of drug-resistant Eimeria spp. strains (Chapman, 1997; Harfoush et al., 2010; Jenkins et al., 2010). Drug-resistant strains are responsible for subclinical coccidiosis and economic losses due to poor weight gain and high food consumption. It was estimated that the 2003–2004 economic losses in India were 68.08% related to reduced body weight gain and 22.7% related to increased feed conversion ratio (FCR) (Bera et al., 2010). Regarding the anticoccidial effects of A. annua in chickens, past studies indicated that both artemisinin and A. annua can be effective against Eimeria spp. (Allen et al., 1998; Arab et al., 2006; Naidoo et al., 2008; Youn and Noh, 2001).
Gastrointestinal Tract
Pritam S. Sahota, James A. Popp, Jerry F. Hardisty, Chirukandath Gopinath, Page R. Bouchard in Toxicologic Pathology, 2018
Because of the high proliferation rate of the small intestine, insults that impact cell proliferation will result in architectural changes from villous blunting and fusion to mucosal collapse (loss of all epithelial cells), depending on the severity of the insult. Radiomimetic agents, ionizing radiation, antimitotics, and compounds targeting the Wnt pathway may have such effects (Figure 11.19b–d). In Göttingen minipigs, treated with an anticancer drug candidate, severe coccidiosis resulted in villous atrophy of the small intestine along with inflammatory infiltrate and mucosal deficits (Mahl et al. 2016). In the case of radiation injury, free radicals are formed by the interaction of radiation and cell components; subsequently, apoptosis is produced by breaks in single- and double-stranded DNA. Additionally, following radiation, endothelial damage occurs allowing for vascular leakage and cellular infiltrates (Wang and Hauer-Jensen 2003). A distinguishing feature of radiation injury from toxic insult is the presence of thickened submucosal vasculature (Greaves 2012). An unusual metaplastic change was produced by a local irritant in the ileum when apical enterocytes were replaced by goblet cells (Figure 11.20a–d).
Anticoccidial effect of Fructus Meliae toosendan extract against Eimeria tenella
Published in Pharmaceutical Biology, 2020
Ting Yong, Meng Chen, Yunhe Li, Xu Song, Yongyuan Huang, Yaqin Chen, Renyong Jia, Yuanfeng Zou, Lixia Li, Lizi Yin, Changliang He, Cheng Lv, Xiaoxia Liang, Gang Ye, Zhongqiong Yin
Avian coccidiosis is a major intracellular parasitic disease caused by the genus Eimeria (Eimeriidae), leading to tremendous economic losses of poultry worldwide (Allen and Fetterer 2002; Dalloul and Lillehoj 2006). The life cycle of E. tenella is complex. It starts from the exogenous stage of unsporulated oocysts shedding in faeces, then sporulation and infection. In the endogenous phase, when the environmentally resistant oocysts infect chickens, the haploid sporozoites are released from sporocysts contained within each oocyst (Sharman et al. 2010), and subsequently invade intestinal epithelial cells. Eventually, the final generation of merozoites differentiates into either male or female microgametes and release from the host cells, and male gametes invade and fuse with intracellular female gametes to form zygotes. Zygotes mature into oocysts within the gut and are excreted into faeces (Kinnaird et al. 2004). Intestinal colonization can cause damage to the intestinal tract and caecum, which decreases feed conversion, leading to lower productivity and performance. Moreover, coccidiosis also causes the disbalance of intestinal microflora, such as increasing Enterobacteriaceae abundance, decreasing Bacillales and Lactobacillales abundance, and weakening the immune function, even boosting the susceptibility to secondary bacterial infections (Morris et al. 2007; Shirley et al. 2007; Tian et al. 2014; MacDonald et al. 2017).
Role of Mushroom as Dietary Supplement on Performance of Poultry
Published in Journal of Dietary Supplements, 2019
Sohail Hassan Khan, Nasir Mukhtar, Javid Iqbal
Avian coccidiosis is the major parasitic disease of poultry with substantial economic burden to the industry. Coccidiosis is caused by several apicomplexan parasites of the genus Eimeria that infect the intestinal tract and are transmitted between birds via ingestion of infective oocysts. Different studies have investigated the immunopotentiating effect of a mushroom on poultry cell-mediated immunity and subsequent protection against coccidiosis. Guo et al. (2004, 2005) demonstrated the protective effects of mushrooms and their polysaccharide extracts (Lentinus edodes and Tremella fuciformis) against Eimeria tenella infection. Dalloul, Lillehoj, Lee, Lee, & Chung (2006) investigated the immunopotentiating effect of a mushroom lectin extracted from mushroom (Fomitella fraxiena) on poultry cell-mediated immunity and protection against coccidiosis. When extract injected into 18-day-old chicken embryos followed by a posthatch oral E. acervulina challenge infection, lectin treatment significantly protected chickens against weight loss associated with coccidiosis. Injecting embryos with lectin also resulted in significant reduction in oocyst shedding as compared with the control saline-injected birds. Their results from utilizing the mushroom lectin included effective growth promotion and immune stimulation in poultry with coccidiosis. In a recent study conducted by Willis et al. (2012), four different medicinal mushrooms (shiitake, cordyceps, reishi, and oyster) were utilized for their potential immunomodulating properties in Eimeria-challenged broiler chickens. These workers evaluated the effects of feeding 5% each of four different medicinal mushrooms, both singularly and combined, via fungus myceliated grain (FMG) to broilers challenged with Eimeria at 14 days of age and reared in battery brooder cages. The major findings in this study demonstrated that broilers fed 5% shiitake via FMG were superior in their performance and Eimeria protection as opposed to broilers supplemented with reishi, oyster, or cordyceps or a combination of all four. Cordyceps was found to cause some depression in broiler body weights whether or not the bird was experimentally challenged with Eimeria at the time; however, it also showed the ability to significantly reduce oocyst shedding.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Coccidia
- Mucus
- Parasitic Disease
- Toxoplasma Gondii
- Toxoplasmosis
- Zoonosis
- Diarrhea
- Feces
- Asymptomatic
- Immunodeficiency