Anticoccidial efficacy of Carica papaya and Azadirachta indica leaves and their effect on serum IgY levels in Eimeria tenella infected birds

Efficacies of leaf powders of Carica papaya (Papaya) and Azadirachta indica (Neem) separately and together were tested along with their effect on serum IgY levels against Eimeria tenella infection in broiler birds. Leaf powders (Papaya - 15 g/kg, Neem - 7 g/kg) were incorporated in feed from 8^th day of age onwards and all the birds except those in negative control group received 50,000 sporulated oocysts of E. tenella on day 21^st. The efficacy criteria were based on weight gain, feed conversion ratio (FCR), oocyst counts, lesion scores and PCV. Indirect ELISA was employed to measure serum IgY levels. Only papaya alone group recorded better weight gains and FCR than positive control. Per cent reductions recorded in peak oocyst output by papaya, neem, and papaya + neem groups were 88, 71 and 10 respectively; all of these were significantly lower than the infected control. Both neem and papaya groups recorded significantly lower mean lesion scores than positive control and their PCV values were insignificantly different from negative control. However, papaya + neem group proved to be the worst among treatment groups. Elevated serum IgY levels were recorded in all treatment groups but papaya and papaya + neem had significant difference with positive control. This study clearly demonstrates the anticoccidial efficacy of C. papaya and A. indica leaves with a possible humoral immunomodulation of the former, whereas nonspecific toxicity of neem and seemingly antagonistic role of the combination appear to be the cause of concern.