Role of Natural Antioxidants for the Control of Coccidiosis in Poultry.

Avian coccidiosis is thought to be the one of the most expensive infectious diseases of poultry. Thus far, chemoprophylaxis and anticoccidial feed additives have controlled the disease but situation has been complicated by the emergence of drug resistant strains against commonly used drugs. Immunization by using vaccines has been another effective approach, but, in poorly managed poultry production systems particularly in case of broiler birds, vaccines may result in the onset of severe reactions. The other drawback of using vaccines is diversity of Eimeria strains in different geographical distributions. Therefore, vaccine strain, effective in one geographical area may not be effective in other area. A solution to these problems could be the use of antioxidant rich plant products that function by mechanisms other than those of chemotherapeutics, with the additional advantage of a natural origin. Antioxidant compounds could hold promise for the control of Eimeria infections due to the association of coccidial infection with lipid peroxidation of the intestinal mucosa. This paper reviews the research on naturally occurring antioxidants including botanical antioxidants effective against avian coccidiosis. Information regarding antioxidant activity, doses and mechanism of action of vitamin A, vitamin E, Zinc, Selenium and herbal complexes such as saponins, flavonoids, tannins, aromatic plants and their essential oils is provided in this paper, which may serve as new beneficial anticoccidial compounds and an essential component of alternative strategies for control of resistant Eimeria strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]