Anticoccidial effect of garlic (Allium sativum) and ginger (Zingiber officinale) against experimentally induced coccidiosis in broiler chickens

The present study was designed to find the effect of ginger and garlic on the performance and integrity of gut in experimentally induced coccidiosis in broiler chickens. A total of two hundred and forty day-old Hubbard broiler chicks were divided into six equal groups as following: T1, Control (basal diet only); T2, Infected-untreated (positive control); T3, Infected and supplemented with garlic at 15 g/kg feed; T4, Infected and supplemented with gingers at 5 g/kg feed; T5, Infected and treated with amprolium hydrochloride at 1.25 g/liter drinking water; T6, Infected and supplemented with mixture of garlic and ginger at the rate of 2.5 and 7.5 g/kg feed. The results showed that feed intake, body weight and feed conversion ratio (FCR) was significantly (P < .05) high in ginger and garlic supplemented birds compared to the positive control. Similarly, oocysts shedding, lesion score and histopathology of the small intestines improved in ginger and garlic supplemented birds after induced-infection in broiler. The findings of the present study showed that ginger and garlic produced encouraging results in comparison to amprolium in broiler chickens infected with experimental coccidiosis.