Rutin and luteolin purified from Gerbera jamesonii and Chrysanthemum ‘dante purple’ flowers exert remarkable protection against the enteropathogen, E. coli O78, in poultry

Recently, the world directed to the use of natural products as antibiotic alternatives to substitute antibiotics, particularly in livestock animals and poultry to avoid antibiotic resistance and antibiotic residues in all products used for human consumption. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate in vitro and in vivo antibacterial activities of Gerbera jamesonii and Chrysanthemum “dante purple” flowers extracts as well as rutin and luteolin previously isolated from Gerbera jamesonii and Chrysanthemum “dante purple”, respectively, against the enteropathogen Escherichia coli (E. coli O78) as well as, the detection of their effects on the blood parameters and the clinical signs of the treated birds. Firstly, in vitro antimicrobial activity of the total methanolic extracts, and fractions (petroleum ether or hexane, ethyl acetate and butanol) of Gerbera jamesonii and Chrysanthemum “dante purple” flowers as well as the pure isolated compounds; rutin and luteolin were tested against different pathogens. Further in vivo antimicrobial activity of the pure compounds, rutin and luteolin against E. coli was evaluated. The two pure compounds remarkably protected against the infection induced by the enteropathogen, E. coli O78, in infected chicks. This could prove the efficacy of using the two natural compounds, rutin and luteolin, as protective supplements in poultry.