An Evaluation of the Anti-coccidial Potency of Some Ethnomedicinal Plants Used in the Treatment of Poultry Diseases in Zaria, Nigeria
Chapter One
Aim
To evaluate the anti-coccidial potentials of some crude extracts of some folkloric ethno medicinal plants used in the treatment of poultry diseases and to isolate and characterize some anti-coccidial constituents.
Objectives
This study was designed to determine:
- the folkloric plants used in the treatment of poultry diseases in Zaria;
- the anti-coccidial activity of the methanolic crude extracts, fractions and substances of some selected folkloric plants;
- the phytochemical constituents of the methanolic crude plant extracts; iv isolate some of the active anti-coccidial principles in the plants and characterize some of the active anti-coccidial principles in the plants understudy.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Poultry Management
Backyard poultry production is the most widespread form of poultry keeping in the world because it forms an important component of small farmers‟ livelihoods (Dolberg, 2007; Sonaiya, 2007). Birds are kept in a low input/low output system, with the available scavenging feed base supplemented with food scraps and grains. Birds and their by-products are usually consumed by their owners, sold locally and used as gifts (FAO, 2005). These practices represent favourable conditions that make poultry production more susceptible to receiving and spreading infectious diseases such as respiratory, gastrointestinal, external parasites and coccidiosis (Iqbal, 2009). Sick birds may be handled, sold, slaughtered and consumed without considering that the infections may also potentially be harmful to man (Iqbal, 2009).
Traditional medicine is preferred to commercial drugs because poultry farmers believe that the local medicines are also efficient, cost effective readily accessible and without eminent resistance. In addition, no transport costs are incurred, it is easy to administer, there are no known dosages, there is minimal risk of drug overdose and when prompt treatment was administered then the birds were healed and the birds benefited from supplementation from vitamins (Moreki, 2013).
The disadvantages experienced by the farmers following the use of medicinal plants include: the difficulty of getting plants during the dry season, delay in the recovery of the birds post herbal drug administration, difficulty in preservation of the herbal concoctions, ineffective concoctions unknown dosages therefore not standardized, may be harmful to persons preparing them, the tedious process of preparing herbal concoctions for many birds. Therefore the diseases treated are unknown because of poor diagnosis (Sonaiya, 2007).
Diseases of Poultry
Poultry diseases of various kinds permanently occur in all corners of the world with some having regional impact, while others spread further (Sonaiya, 2007). The common diseases of poultry include Newcastle Disease (NCD), coccidiosis, salmonellosis, helminthosis or worm infections and bronchitis while the common parasites include mites and fleas (Gabanakgosi, 2012). Poultry diseases continue to represent a serious loss to poultry producers in all areas of the world (Okitoi etal., 2007). In our society today however, a large number of poultry chickens are affected with different types of sicknesses and diseases which affect different parts and organs in their body (Olanipekun, 2014) and the major constraints faced by family chicken rearers are disease outbreaks and parasites.
Historical Perspective of Coccidiosis
Eimeria, the causative agent of coccidiosis was named after the German Zoologist Theodore Emer. The oocysts of Eimeria steidai were first seen by Antonni van Leeuwenhoek in the bile of a rabbit in 1674 (Irvine, 1961). The life cycle of a coccidian parasite in birds was described by Fantham in 1910 who was working for an enquiry into diseases that were affecting the red grouse. The basic understanding of coccidiosis as a disease caused by several species of the protozoan Eimeria came from publications of two poultry pathologists between 1910 and 1938. The contributions of these scientists (W.T Johnson and E.E Tyzzer) laid the foundations for understanding coccidiosis as a disease complex involving several distinct species of coccidia (Reid, 1990). Despite the growing relevance of the poultry industry and the realization of the importance of coccidiosis as a disease of fowls, little further work was carried out in the United Kingdom until 1940 (Chapman, 2003).
Approximately, 40 billion chickens are raised in the poultry industry yearly and coccidiosis is the most frequently reported disease of chickens all over the world (Williams et al., 1999). Coccidiosis is known to affect almost every species of animal on earth, but first attempts at treating this disease dated back to its outbreak in poultry in 1944 (Teixeira et al., 2004). The drug of choice for the treatment of coccidiosis (then) was sulphanimides based on availability. Through further experimentations, poultry producers found, in the late 1940s, that the most economical method of preventing and controlling the disease was by the continuous usage of sulphaquinoxalines included in the feed of chickens (Chapman, 2003). These chemicals reduced the mortality caused by the protozoan parasite and also lessened the morbidity of the disease in poultry. Since the 1950s, various types of anticoccidials have been produced from different drugs and chemicals. Amprolium and nicarbazine are some of the older chemicals that are still in use today. Most of the chemicals are no longer in use or allowed in various countries. This is because of proven toxicological findings or lack of efficacy due to development of resistance by the coccidian it was designed to destroy (Williams et al., 1999; Abbas et al., 2012).
CHAPTER THREE
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Background Information
Ethno veterinary data for this research was collected over a seven-month period in 2011. The survey was conducted among poultry farmers in Zaria, Kaduna State. The medicinal plants reported in this research are based on such interviews (Moerman, 1998; Wynn and Marsden, 2003). Two visits and interactions with poultry farmers were conducted. During the first visit, poultry farmers in Zaria area were identified their consent was sought and participants were select for the interviews (Cheryl et al., 2007). During the second visit, the poultry farmers were interviewed on types of poultry diseases encountered and medicinal plants used in treating their poultry animals. Information such as local name of disease, the symptoms, name of plants used, parts of plants used and methods of preparation with the mode of administration were provided by the farmers. Other information included dosage, frequency and duration of treatment as well as solvents used in preparation of the plants. The medicinal uses of the plants were cross-checked and confirmed through repeated queries (Maikai et al., 2007). Plants claimed to be beneficial in the treatment of various poultry diseases were collected in the company of practitioners. Data obtained were collated and tabulated to give the botanical, family and local names, parts used, dosage, mode of administration and diseases treated. (Maikai et al., 2007). The percentage frequency of each plant was calculated.
Study Area
The study was carried out in Zaria (11o9 40″ N; 7o39 21″E) with an area of 115.8 m² in Kaduna State, Nigeria. It is located at an elevation of 644 m (2112 ft.) above sea level. The inhabitants are predominantly farmers and practice mixed farming (Gihring, 1984).
Plant Collection and Identification
Ten most frequently used plant parts claimed to be beneficial in treating poultry diseases especially coccidiosis-like disease were collected from around Zaria between October, 2011and March, 2012. The plants were identified and authenticated by taxonomists at the Herbarium Unit, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. Voucher number was given to each of the plants and samples were deposited in the Herbarium Unit.The detailed medicinal concoctions used in the management of poultry diseases are detailed in Table 2
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS
Plant Collection and Identification
Results of plants collected and identified are presented as common plants used for treatment of poultry diseases including coccidiosis by local farmers and the percent of respondents are presented in Table 1. Common plants used and the percent of respondents are shown in Table 1. The frequency of use of Khaya senegalensis and Azadirachta indica was highest among the respondents (11.9% and 9.4%) respectively. Other plants that were frequently used by the poultry farmers in Zaria include Ficus platyphylla, Nauclea diderichii (7.5%), N. latifolia, Solanum dasyphyllum (6.9%), Cissus populnea, Citrus sinensis, Vitellariaparadoxa (6.3%) and Parkia biglobosa (5.0%). Medicinal plants such as Capsicumannum (4.4%), Cassiaoccidentalis (3.8%), Artemisia absinthium, Euphorbia hirta and Jatropha curcas (3.0%) were rarely used by poultry farmers in Zaria. Adansoniadigitata, Allium cepa and Vernoniaamygdalina (1.9%) were scarcely used in treating poultry diseases in the study area.Plant that was used by most of the farmers was A. indica and the least used plant was J. carcus. The medicinal plant parts used were stem bark and leaves while fruits and roots were seldom utilized. These plant parts were either used freshly or dry and all the medicinal plants were administered orally except for the treatment of ectoparasites. Water was the solvent used in preparation and mostly added to the birds‟ drinking water.
Symptoms described by most poultry farmers in the study area included bloody and foamy diarrhoea. Other suspected diseases encountered in the study area were fowl cholera, lice infestation, New castle disease, bronchitis and dysentery.
CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION
The respondents identified nineteen medicinal plants that were used in the control and treatment of chicken diseases of which ten medicinal plants are frequently used by the poultry farmers. Ethnoveterinary medicine (EVM) is important in treatment and control of diseases and parasites of chickens in Zaria, as the majority of poultry rearers could not afford to purchase veterinary requisites such as vaccines, drugs, dips and chemical dusts and also lacked knowledge of vaccine handling and administration. In the study area, poultry farmers depended on medicinal plants as herbal remedies for their indigenous chicken flock health management and considered the use of ethnoveterinary medicine as sustainable, economical and culturally acceptable. Traditional medicine is preferred to commercial drugs because poultry farmers in the study area believe that the local medicines are also efficient, cost effective, readily accessible and without eminent resistance. In addition, no transport costs are incurred, it is easy to administer, there is minimal risk of drug overdose and when prompt treatment was administered, the birds were healed and the birds benefited from supplementation from vitamins.
CHAPTER SIX
SUMMARY,CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
This present study has demonstrated the relevance of traditional medicines in animal healthcare of poultry farmers. It has been found that traditional herbal medicines are still prevalent and used in the treatment of many poultry diseases including coccidiosis in Zaria, Nigeria.
Ten of the most commonly used plants extracts as anticoccidials had various degrees of efficacy on sporulated oocysts of E. tenella. Phytochemical screening of three of these plants revealed the presence of bioactive components. The extracts were also not toxic to chickens but eliminated oocysts from coccidia- infected chickens. The fractions of methanolic extracts of N. diderichii and S. dasyphyllum as well as substances obtained from them possess anticoccidial effects. Ursolic and Betulinic acids were obtained from the substances of methanolic extract of N. diderichii.
The results showed that the extracts of N. diderichii and S. dasyphyllum may be novel plant-based, environmentally friendly anticoccidial agents that do not possess health risks posed by chemical-based anti-coccidial agents currently in use. The health benefits of plant-based foods are attributed to bioactive phytochemicals, including triterpenoids and other groups of natural compounds, acting in an additive way (Akihisa et al ., 2010).
Conclusions
Plants of ethno – veterinary importance used in the treatment of poultry disease were identified.
Methanolic crude extracts of Azadirachta indica, Citrus sinensis, Cissus populnea, Ficus platyphylla, Khaya senegalensis,Nauclea diderichii, N. latifolia, Parkia biglobosa, Solanum dasyphyllum and Vitellariaparadoxa; fractions and substances from S. dasyphyllum and N. diderichii which are frequently used folkloric plants possessed anti-coccidial activities.
- A. indica, N. diderichii and S. dasyphyllum methanolic crude extracts screened contain phytochemical constituents.
Active anti-coccidial principles were isolated from some of the ethno-veterinary plants.
The active anti-coccidial principles in the plants under study were characterized and found to contain betulinic and ursolic acids.
Recommendations
Efforts should be geared towards the use of plants and plant extracts in the control and prevention of coccidiosis.
Conservation measures need to be applied to ensure the long term availability of the plants for future generation and continuity.
It is important to note that the active plant constituents should be sufficiently lipid soluble to enable penetration of intracellular cells for effectiveness on the coccidian parasite that produce resistant oocysts.
Active plant constituents should be further tested to determine fat or lipid soluble for ease of penetrating intracellular cells.
There is the need to carry out chronic toxicity test of the plant extracts especially neem to determine the accurate dosage for the chickens.
The effectiveness of the plant extracts, especially that of N. diderichii and S. dasyphyllum on oocysts of E. tenella provides a strong rationale for further evaluation of their anticoccidial efficacy in a larger study.
These plants may also have merit in the prophylactic management of coccidiosis.
Considering the numerous pharmacological activities of the betulinic and ursolic acids as well as their ubiquitous nature, there is clear need for further search on the bioavailability of these compounds and quantification in different plant parts.
Betulinic and ursolic acids are not very toxic, thus further work is also required on the development of synthetic derivatives with lower toxic effect and higher therapeutic potential.
Another virgin area is the mechanism of action of the therapeutic effects of these compounds as well as functional food factors.
Due to low polarity and consequently poor aqueous solubility of triterpenoids occurring in free and ester forms, their real bioavailability has been questioned (Anosa and Okoro, 2011).
Formulations based on nanotechnologies have been proposed to replace conventional dosage forms (Olowokudejo et al., 2008).
Quantification of ursolic and betulinic acids present in N. diderichii and other plants is also recommended.
Contributions to Knowledge
- The crude methanolic extracts of Nauclea diderichii killed 460 (92.0%), 400 (80.0%),371 (74.2%),275 (55.0%)and215 (43.0%) and Solanum dasyphyllum killed 455 (91.0%), 389 (77.8%), 300 (60.0%), 267 (53.5%) and 203 (40.6%) sporulated sporocysts at dilutions 1:25, 1:50, 1:100,1:200 and 1:400after 96 hr respectively.
- Fraction 6 (F6) from Solanum dasyphyllum killed 451 (90.2%), 340 (68.0%), 300(60.0%), 261 (52.2%) and 191 (38.2%) and Fraction 9 (F9) killed 481 (96.2%), 414 (82.8%), 375 (75.0%), 299 (59.8%) and 201 (40.2%) sporulated sporocysts at dilutions 1:25, 1:50, 1:100,1:200 and 1:400after 96 hr
- Fraction7 (F7) from Nauclea diderichii killed 479 (95.8%), 369 (73.8%), 310 (62.0%), 278 (55.6%) and 166 (33.2%) and Fraction 8 (F8) killed 490 (98.0%), 451 (90.2%),391 (78.2%), 305 (61.0%) and 219 (43.8%) sporulated sporocysts at dilutions 1:25, 1:50, 1:100,1:200 and 1:400after 96 hr
- Substances from fractions of S. dasyphyllum (BS1) killed 478 (95.6%), 396 (79.2%),333 (66.1%), 212 (42.4%) and 198 (39.9%)andN. diderichii (BS2) killed 493 (98.6%), 471 (94.2%), 443 (88.6%), 332 (66.4%) and 269 (53.8%) sporulated oocysts at dilutions 1:25, 1:50, 1:100,1:200 and 1:400after 96 hr respectively.
- Bioactive components isolated from N. diderichii were characterized and found to bebetulinic and ursolic acids which are terpenoids and found to be anti-coccidial in action.
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