Rosmarinus officinalis Essential Oils as an Alternative to Anticoccidial Drugs in Broiler Chicken against E. maxima and E. tenella Infection

In the current study, Rosmarinus officinalis essential oil (REO) was used as an alternative to anticoccidial drugs in broilers infected with E. maxima and E. tenella. A total of 700-day-old straight run broiler chicks were randomly assigned to seven groups having 5 treatments of 20 birds each according to completely randomized design. Treatments were consisted of negative control (CN); positive E. maxima (PCM); positive E. tenella (PCT); E. maxima treated with anticoccidial drug (SM); E. tenella treated with anticoccidial drug (ST); Rosemary-fed E. maxima challenged group (RM); Rosemary-fed E. tenella challenged group (RT). At 14 days of their age, growth performance, oocyst number, haematopathology, corticosterone levels, gut microbiota modulation were measured. GC/MS analysis showed that extracted REO had various antioxidant as well as anticoccidial compounds such as 1,8-Cineole (53.94%), α-Pinene (18.45%), β-Pinene (4.57%) and Camphor (6.08%). Birds fed with REO, presented higher weight gain, reduced fecal oocyst count, best haematological parameters, least lesion score, corticosterone level and number of Salmonella typhimurium colonies, as compared to all other groups (P<0.05). Both E. maxima and E. tenella were observed as equally pathogenic to broilers (P>0.05). We concluded that E. maxima and E. tenella are equally pathogenic, and REO can be a good alternative to anticoccidial drugs as it improves bird performance by inducing intestinal healing and restoration.