Research Brief Protective effects of Aloe vera-based diets in Eimeria maxima-infected broiler chickens Dongjean Yim a,b , Sang S. Kang b , Dong W. Kim c , Sang H. Kim c , Hyun S. Lillehoj d , Wongi Min a,⇑ a College of Veterinary Medicine & Research Institute of Life Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 660-701, Republic of Korea b Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Institute of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 660-751, Republic of Korea c National Institute of Animal Science, RDA, Cheonan 330-801, Republic of Korea d Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Animal and Natural Resources Institute, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA article info Article history: Received 11 June 2010 Received in revised form 2 July 2010 Accepted 11 August 2010 Available online 17 August 2010 Keywords: Aloe vera Coccidiosis Eimeria Chickens abstract Aloes have been widely used for a broad range of pharmacological activities, including parasitic problems. Avian coccidiosis is the most costly and wide-spread parasitic disease in the poultry industry, and has been mainly controlled by the use of chemotherapeutic agents. Due to the emergence of drug-resistant strains, alternative control strategies are needed. In this study, the protective effects of Aloe vera-based diets were assessed in broiler chickens following oral infection with Eimeria maxima. Chickens were fed a regular diet supplemented with ground Aloe vera throughout the duration of the experiment begin- ning 2 days prior to infection with 1 Â 10 4 sporulated oocysts of E. maxima. No significant differences were found in body weight gain or loss between the Aloe vera-supplemented and unsupplemented groups with or without E. maxima infections. Fecal oocyst shedding decreased significantly (p< 0.05) in all of the treatment groups that were supplemented with Aloe vera as compared to the unsupple- mented group. Furthermore, the Aloe vera-supplemented group showed significantly fewer intestinal lesions (p< 0.05) than the unsupplemented group following infection. The findings of this study suggest that Aloe vera could be used an alternative treatment for controlling avian coccidiosis. Ó 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Coccidiosis of chickens is one of most economically important diseases affecting the poultry industry and is caused by seven spe- cies of intracellular protozoan parasites of the genus Eimeria. Eime- ria typically invades cells of the intestinal epithelium and causes destruction of the infected cells resulting in reduction of feed con- version, body weight gain, egg production, and increased morbid- ity and mortality (Min et al., 2004; Morris and Gasser, 2006; Mcdonald and Shirley, 2009). Currently, this disease has been mainly controlled by the use of anticoccidial drugs in feed or water and/or vaccines using live strains of Eimeria in intensively reared poultry settings (Innes and Vermeulen, 2006; Lillehoj et al., 2007; Mcdonald and Shirley, 2009). Due to the emergence of drug-resis- tant strains of Eimeria in populations of commercial flocks and increasing public concern about drug residues in meat (Innes and Vermeulen, 2006; Williams, 2006; Bafundo et al., 2008), alternative treatments are urgently needed. Therefore, several studies have been undertaken to identify various dietary supplements and pro- biotics to control Eimeria infections (Dalloul et al., 2003; Jang et al., 2007; Molan et al., 2009; Nweze and Obiwulu, 2009). Here, we examined Aloe vera as a dietary supplement to control Eimeria infections. Of approximately 420 species of Aloe belonging to the Aspho- delaceae family, Aloe vera has been commonly used as a medicinal plant for more than 2000 years. This succulent cactus-like plant grows readily in hot dry climates and is widely distributed in Afri- ca, Asia, and other tropical areas (Boudreau and Beland, 2006). Approximately 99–99.5% of the Aloe vera plant is composed of water. The remaining 0.5–1% of the plant consists of solid compo- nents harboring over 75 biologically active compounds. These compounds are known to have a broad range of pharmacological activities, including wound healing, anti-inflammatory, anti-ar- thritic, anti-oxidative, anti-diabetic, and anti-tumorigenic effects (Reynolds and Dweck, 1999; Boudreau and Beland, 2006). Addi- tionally, Aloe vera plant is known to have anti-microbial properties, including anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, and anti-parasitic properties (Reynolds and Dweck, 1999; Waihenya et al., 2002a; Boudreau and Beland, 2006). This study investigated the beneficial effects of Aloe vera-based diets for E. maxima-infected broiler chickens. In vivo trials were car- ried out to evaluate the effects of Aloe vera-based diets in protec- tion against poultry coccidiosis. Assessment of host disease 0014-4894/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.exppara.2010.08.010 ⇑ Corresponding author. Address: College of Veterinary Medicine, Gyeongsang National University, 900 Gajwa-dong, Jinju, Gyeongnam 660-701, Korea. Fax: +82 55 751 5803. E-mail address: wongimin@gnu.ac.kr (W. Min). Experimental Parasitology 127 (2011) 322–325 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Experimental Parasitology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/yexpr