Efficacy of Different Concentrations of Aloe chabaudii Leaf Gel as a Substitute for a Sulfonamide for the Control of Avian Coccidiosis

doi:10.4236/ojapps.2013.37053

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Open Journal of Applied Sciences, 2013, 3, 430-435

Published Online November 2013 (http://www.scirp.org/journal/ojapps)

http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ojapps.2013.37053

Open Access OJAppS

Efficacy of Different Conc entrations of Aloe chabaudii Leaf

Gel as a Substitute for a Sulfonamide for the Control of

Avian Coccidiosis

Marvelous Sungirai, Moses Mucheni, Lawrence Masaka

Department of Livestock and Wildlife Management, Midlands State University, Gweru, Zimbabwe

Email: [email protected]

Received July 24, 2013 ; revised September 26, 2013 ; accepted October 4, 2013

cense, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Aloe chabaud ii schonland juice as a potential substi-

tute of sulphonamide drugs and to measure its effects when administered at different concentrations in the control of

avian coccidiosis. 30 cobb and 500 broiler chickens were used for the experiment. The broilers were randomised into

six groups of five birds each and the groups were assigned to six treatments in a Complete Randomised Design (CRD).

Four of the groups were given any one of the following treatments, different concentrations of Aloe (weight/volume:

10%, 20% and 30%) and a sulphonamide. There was a control group which was not given a treatment and one cohort

group which was neither infected nor treated. At two weeks of age, 25 of the birds were infected with coccidia via

drinking water using infected chicken fecal matter, while the remaining five birds were left uninfected. Infection pro-

ceeded for 1 week and after the infection period, fecal oocysts were counted from each individual bird using the

McMaster technique. Treatments started one day after the infection and continued for one week after 20 gram samples

of fecal matter were taken from each bird per treatment and oocysts were counted. After oocyst counting, all birds were

slaughtered and lesion scoring was done on the intestines using the Johnson and Reid technique. Data was analysed for

oocysts count in different treatments, fecal egg count reduction, relative risk of coccidiosis and the effectiveness of Aloe

concentrations as a substitute for a commercial sulphonamide. The results showed that the concentrations of Aloe used

in the experiment were not effective as compared to the sulphonamide in controlling coccidiosis as the fecal egg reduc-

tion was below 90% for all concentrations. The relative risk of coccidiosis infection in the farm was found to be 100%,

meaning that coccidiosis is a disease of economic importance at the farm. However, there was a reduction in the fecal

oocyst count with increase in Aloe juice concentration to control coccidiosis, though this could not be compared to sul-

phonamide (ESB3) which was more effective (p < 0.05). This study has shown that there is potential for use of Aloe

chabaudii leaf gel as a chemotherapeutic though much research is needed to determine absolute concentrations which

will make it comparable to commercially available drugs in terms of efficacy.

Keywords: Aloe chabaudii; Coccidiosis; Sulphonamide; Efficacy

1. Introduction

Avian coccidiosis is among the most costly and wide-

spread infectious diseases in the poultry industry [1]. In

Zimbabwe, the disease is of socio-economic importance

among newly resettled and rural poultry farmers [2]. The

land reform programme which started in the year of 2000

led to an increase in the number of small scale broiler

farmers countrywide. Many of these farmers practice ex-

tensive to semi-extensive poultry production. This is

comprised mainly of a wide range of free range and

broiler chicken farming, where disease incidence of poul-

try coccidiosis has been on the rise [2].

The majority of resettled farmers still use primitive

production structures such as poor poultry housing, and

this coupled together with the use of untreated water

from unprotected water sources such as dams, open wells

and rivers increases the chance of incidences of diseases

such as avian coccidiosis. Due to the liquidity challenges

the country currently faces, resource-poor farmers are

unable to purchase commercial drugs, and this coupled

together with the closure of veterinary shops in commu-

nal and resettlement areas leads to challenges in the con-

M. SUNGIRAI ET AL. 431

trol of livestock diseases. In addition, some resettled

farmers are located far from these shops and have to

travel long distances to urban areas to purchase drugs.

A remedy can be found in the use of ethno veterinary

medicines. Ethno veterinary medicines have been known

to be used in the control of different livestock ailments,

and Aloe is a good example. The ethno veterinary use of

Aloe dates far back into history as in the Greek, Egyptian

and Roman eras. Its therapeutic advantages have sur-

vived for over 4000 yrs with the earliest records being

dated back to 2100 BC [3]. Aloe comes in a wholesome

number of varieties and different sub species. These in-

clude A. excelsa, A. spicata and A. vera and these have a

good reputation for their use in research concerning

ethno veterinary science [4]. Aloe chabaudii schonland is

a traditional medicine which has also been used to con-

trol avian coccidiosis, over years in most rural parts of

eastern Zimbabwe and Mozambique [5]. Majority of

communal farmers, who use it, claim that the herb is an

efficient remedy to such ailments. However, unlike its

former mentioned sub species, there is not much evi-

dence in terms of quantifiable data to substantiate the

claims. It is still being used as a cheaper and more read-

ily available alternative for the control of coccidiosis by a

majority of small scale producers in the unavailability of

chemothe-rapeutic agents.

It is therefore important to have knowledge on the

most appropriate dosages of the Aloe leaf juice that will

elicit an effective therapeutic response from the chickens.

This will go a long way in addressing losses due to the

financial liquidity challenges faced by communal farmers

in accessing veterinary drugs, and also addressing issues

concerning disease resistance due to continued use of a

single drug. This research was therefore carried out to

determine the results of using different concentrations of

Aloe chabaudii schonland juice in the control of coccidi-

osis in small scale broiler production, as a substitute for a

popular chemo therapeutic sulphonamide.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Study Area Description

This research was carried out at Family Aids Caring

Trust, located 1km from Rusape town centre in Makoni

district of the Manicaland province in Zimbabwe. This

area falls under agro-ecological region IIb with sandy

loam soils. The annual rainfall ranges between a 1000

mm - 1200 mm with an average maximum temperature

of 22˚C. The terrain is of gently rugged slopes falling in

the catchment area of the Rusape river and dam basin

located at an altitude of 4610 feet above sea level (1410

m).

2.2. Methodology

2.2.1. Experimental Birds, Design and Management

30 Cobb 500 broilers raised from day old were used in

this experiment. The birds were grown under uniform

brooder conditions up to one week of age with an aver-

age mass of 150 - 180 g live mass. At this age, 25 birds

were infected with an average 20,000 coccidian oocysts

via drinking water using infected fecal matter of posi-

tively diagnosed birds obtained from a local veterinary

station. Infection continued for a week to complete the

incubation period of the mature oocysts which is 4 - 6

days as according to [6]. After the last day of infection,

the 25 birds infected were chosen and randomised to 5

groups in a Complete Randomised Design, where each

group contained 5 birds. A sixth group which containing

uninfected birds was added. The birds were housed in a

disinfected deep litter system with wood shavings being

the bedding material. Each treatment occupied an area of

1 m2 where feed was provided ad libitum and bird were

allowed 2 litres of water per day. The feed which was

used was in the form of starter crumbs (21% CP) for the

first two weeks, and broiler grower pellets (16% CP) for

the last two weeks of the experiment. The birds were

already vaccinated against Newcastle disease by the sup-

plier and vaccination for this disease was not repeated,

however, birds were vaccinated against Infectious Bursal

Disease at two weeks of age.

2.2.2. Aloe chabaudii Identification and Chemical

Analysis

A search was made for Aloe chabaudii to be used in the

study. An Aloe species was positively identified and con-

firmed as Aloe chabaudii schonland by experts of bo-

tanical sciences from the University of Zimbabwe. Ten

Aloe chabaudii leaves were then collected from different

plants within the area neighbouring that of study and were

stored overnight in a refrigerator at a temperature of 4˚C

to prevent oxidation of heat degradable component of the

sap. The samples were then sent the following morning

to the University of Zimbabwe Bio chemistry department

for chemical composition analysis. Results showed that

100g Aloe leaf extract had 10% mass per unit volume

(10% m/v) concentration, this having 98.5% water and

0.5% dissolved solutes. On average, a full grown leaf

weighed 200 g equivalent to 50 g of Aloe extract.

2.2.3. Treatments

This experiment had six groups, with five birds per group

and each bird per group was an experimental unit, there-

fore each treatment was replicated five times. 200 g of

fresh Aloe leaves were cut into small cubical pieces and

were soaked in 2 litres of chicken drinking water (ap-

proximately 10% m/v extract), and left over night for the

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M. SUNGIRAI ET AL.

432

leaf juice to diffuse into solution and was treated in the

first group. Simultaneously the second and the third group

were treated with 400 g (approx 20% m/v extract) and

600 g (approx 30% m/v extract) of Aloe leaves respec-

tively. 10% m/v Aloe extract, was taken as the first treat-

ment for the lowest Aloe extract concentration level, 20%

m/v being the second and 30% m/v being the highest

Aloe extract concentration level in this case. The forth

group represented the cohort study so as to prove the

importance of avian coccidiosis as a disease of economic

importance in this experiment. This group contained 5

birds that were not infected and were not given any

treatment neither in their feed nor drinking water. The 5th

group was the control which had infected birds but was

not assigned for any treatment dosages. The 6th group

had infected birds which were receiving a sulphonamide

drug treatment which was sulfaclozine (ESB3). Dosages

stared from the third week and continued for one week

with all other variables being kept constant.

2.2.4. Data collection

1) Oocyst counts

After a week of giving the assigned treatments, indi-

vidual birds per group had their fecal samples collected

by means of plastic collecting bags. About 10 g from

each sample collected was taken to the central veterinary

laboratories for oocysts counting using the McMaster’s

chamber oocysts counting technique. Briefly in this tech-

nique, 10 g of fecal matter were soaked in 100 ml of tap

water for 24 hours at 4˚C. The mixture was then shaken

vigorously and the litter was filtered through a single

thickness of muslin (q.s. filtrate to 100 ml). A 10 ml cen-

trifuge tube was filled with filtrate and centrifuged for

five minutes at a speed that concentrates the solids. The

debris was removed and the pellet was re suspended in a

few milliliters of saturated salt solution (sodium chloride).

Samples were taken from the solution using a Pasteur

pipette and were poured on a McMaster’s fill chamber.

The number of oocysts was counted under a microscope

and the actual number of oocysts was calculated using

the following formula:

Number of oocytes per gram of litter

(1.1) 100 0.1

0.1









where:

n = number of oocysts counted,

0.10 = volume of the McMaster counting chamber,

100 = 100 ml of water that the litter is soaked in, and

0.1 = correction for 10 g of litter originally taken.

2) Lesion scoring

Individual birds per treatment were sent for gastro in-

testinal lesion analysis once at the end of the treatment

period, after fecal oocyst count samples were taken and

analysed. Each bird was dissected and their gastro intes-

tinal tracts removed and opened to analyse them for le-

sions. Observations were recorded as data in the form of

scores as according to the lesion scoring technique by [7].

The data collected was transformed before analysis.

3) Relative Risk

The relative risk for the incidence of coccidiosis by

measuring association between exposed (control) and non-

exposed (cohort) broilers was done using the following

formula (Table 1).

Therefore, Relative Risk of Disease = Risk in exposed

group/Risk in unexposed group × 100

4) Statistical analysis

Differences in initial level of infection and after treat-

ment oocysts counts were compared using Fecal Egg

Reduction Technique (FERT) using the following for-

mula:

(1.4) initialcount finalcount100

initialcount











One way analysis of variance was used to analyse the

transformed data for lesion scores and that of oocyst

counts using the Genstat Discovery Edition. Mean values

were separated using the least significance differences

(LSD) and differences were considered significant at p <

0.05

3. Results

3.1. Fecal Egg Reduction Technique for Oocyst

Counts

ESB3 treatment was only one which had over 90% FERT

percentage, thus it was the only one effective in disease

control (Table 2).

Table 1. 2 × 2 table to calculate relative risk.

Infected Non infected totals

Exposed (control)a b a + b

Non exposed(cohort)c d c + d

Risk for exposed = (1.2) a



and risk for non-exposed group = (1.3)



, where a = number of infected birds in the exposed group; b = num-

ber of non-infected birds in the exposed group; c = number of infected birds

in the non-exposed group; d = number of non-infected birds in the non-ex-

posed group.

Table 2. Fecal egg reduction (FERT/10 g fecal matter).

treatment Aloe 10Aloe 20 Aloe 30 cohort controlEsb3

Mean final

oocyst count352 290 233 800 348730

Mean Initial

oocysts count2000 2000 2000 2000 20002000

FECR % 82.4 85.5 88.4 60 74.3598.5

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M. SUNGIRAI ET AL.

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433

3.2. Oocyst Count

From Figure 1, there was a significant reduction in the

fecal oocyst count (p < 0.05) with increase in Aloe juice

concentration to control coccidiosis, with Aloe 30% hav-

ing the highest percentage reduction in oocysts. The mean

final oocyst count value for ESB3 (30 oocysts/10g of

fecal matter) was significantly lower (p < 0.05) than that

of the most effective Aloe concentration (Aloe 30%) which

had a value of 233 oocysts/10g of fecal matter. However,

Aloe treatments managed to reduce oocysts numbers to a

large extent comparing with their initial levels of infec-

tion oocysts count (from an average of 2000 oocysts/10g

fecal matter. In the control there, was an increase in oo-

cyst count value to a higher level of 3487 oocysts/10g

fecal matter, from that of the average initial level of in-

fection which was 2000 oocysts/10g fecal matter. The

cohort analysis group showed a significant level of infec-

tion by coccidian having a final group average oocyst

count mean value of 800 oocyst/10g fecal matter, having

started the experiment without infection.

3.3. Lesion Scores

Figure 2 shows that there were no significant differences

(p ˃ 0.05) in the numbers of birds affected with lesions

for all Aloe treatments, together with the control and co-

hort. The control showed the greatest occurrence of le-

sions. However, it is also shown that the ESB3 treatment

was significantly different from all the other treatments

(p < 0.05) and had the least range in terms of number of

birds.

Figure 1. Changes in average pre and post treatment oocyst counts for all treatments 1: Changes in average pre and post

treatment oocyst counts for all treatments. CV (%) = 1.6, S.E = 14.11.

Figure 2. Distribution of number of bi rds found to have lesions per trea tment.

M. SUNGIRAI ET AL.

434

3.4. Relative Risk

The relative risk of infection with coccidiosis was calcu-

lated and found to be 100%.

(1.5) riskin exposedgroup100

riskinnon exposedgroup













4. Discussion

Aloe managed to reduce oocyst levels to minimum levels

but the results were not comparable to that of ESB3. Re-

sults obtained by [2] showed that treatment with 0.8 g of

Aloe Excelsa ground powder in drinking water signifi-

cantly reduced oocyst numbers. In his he showed that

differences in oocyst counts proved A. excelsa juice to be

as effective as ESB3 in controlling coccidiosis. However,

their results also showed that the Aloe drug although ef-

fective, had a lower curative value as compared to that

shown by the ESB3 drug. This is similar to this case,

where A. chabaudii gel was not as efficient in its control

as compared to ESB3. The most possible reason for this

could be that, the concentration levels of Aloe used in

this experiment were not enough to conclude that A.

chabaudii leaf gel could not reach an oocyst reduction

level like that observed for ESB3. This implies that, since

the reduction in oocysts with increase in Aloe juice con-

centration was not exhausted to the threshold level, fur-

ther increasing the Aloe concentration could possibly

have increased oocyst reduction in the broilers.

Another reason why Aloe was proved not to be as ef-

fective as ESB3, though it reduced oocyst numbers, is

due to the differences in the mode of action towards coc-

cidian oocysts control between the two agents. ESB3 is a

coccidiocidal drug meaning it actually kills disease agents

by inhibiting protein synthesis within their systems and

thus kill the microbes. This is different from Aloe juice’s

mode of action which is more coccidiostatical, meaning,

it arrests the intra and extra cellular growth of the disease

agent though development may resume after drug with-

drawal. This is supported by work done by [8] which

looked at the protective effects of Aloe vera based diets

in Eimeria maxima, in which Aloe treatment proved suc-

cessful. The study discussed that Aloe was able to control

coccidiosis due to the chemistry of its gel. The chemistry

of Aloe juice comprises of a class of organic chemicals

known as 1.8 dihydroxyanthraquinone derivatives includ-

ing Aloe emodin, aloetic acid and isobarbaloin [9]. These

chemical constituencies in the Aloe juice act as laxative

agents by interacting with the gastrointestinal mucosa

and inducing bowel motility and allowing for quick dis-

charging of coccidia lodged in fecal matter.

Though effective, ESB3 was not able to reduce the

number of oocysts to zero to show complete disease con-

trol. This could be explained by the issue of emergence

of drug resistant Eimeria strains due to the continued use

of ESB3 to control coccidiosis as it is the most available

anticoccidial. As explained by [10], there has been a

concern in the rise of ionophore and sulphonamide resis-

tant strains of coccidia in many broiler production sys-

tems of the world and much research is being done to

investigate such problems.

[4] also found out that there were significant decreases

in oocyst counts by increasing Aloe concentration in a

related study, same way with what was observed in this

study. However lesion score results from this study

showed differences from what was obtained by [8] as

there were no differences in the range of the number of

birds that had lesion scores for all treatment only with

ESB3 showing significant lesion score control. This can

be due to differences in the pathogenicity that occur be-

tween Eimeria strains. Since this experiment was based

on a mixed Eimeria strain exposure, it could be that there

was an uneven distribution between the most virulent and

less virulent strains of Eimeria during the time of infec-

tion as the eight species known to infect poultry are not

known to be equally important. For instance, E. mitis is

very pathogenic, but doesn’t necessarily result in lesions

as compared to E. acervulina and E. maxima [11]. In

another experiment involving using A. secu ndiflora gel

as anticoccidial, [12] observed that Aloe treated birds had

a glyco protein Aloe layer, lining the intestinal lumen of

the gastro intestinal tract. This layer prevented the ad-

herence and invasion of the intestinal lining by mature

oocysts such that the birds had less clinical lesions.

Lesion score results showed no significant differences

in terms of the number of birds infected between A. cha-

baudii gel treated groups, which is different from what

was shown with the oocyst count results. [11] explains

this by stating that there is weak correlation between le-

sion scores and oocysts per gram (OPG) meaning that

increase in lesions is not directly linked to amount of

oocyst per gram fecal matter and vice versa. According

to [13], Eimeria have a high morbidity, resilience and

incidence may occur due to transferring by animals, in-

sects, dust, contaminated feed, water and equipment.

This probably explains the incidence of disease in the

prospective cohort analysis of this study proving the im-

portance of coccidiosis as a disease in poultry production.

The uninfected birds which received no treatment were

housed in the same run as with all the other treatments

thus mature oocyst could have possibly been transferred

to these birds.

5. Conclusion

Coccidiosis has been shown to be a disease of economic

importance under poor habitat, health and nutrition. This

thus implies that there is a need to control cases upon

incidence, and proper management should be effected to

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M. SUNGIRAI ET AL. 435

prevent disease prevalence. Aloe chabaudii has been

shown to be a potential chemotherapeutic for coccidiosis

as seen by the reduction in fecal oocysts. However, it is

not as effective as ESB3 in controlling coccidiosis,

therefore, it can be used as a coccidiostat to control the

disease in the absence of more effective drugs. Future

studies are recommended to increase the concentration

(m/v) of Aloe chabaudii to levels beyond those used in

this study. There is also a need to increase the number of

birds per group and repeat data collection more than once

to increase amount of data and accuracy of results. Lastly,

future studies should determine the cost effectiveness of

using Aloe in controlling coccidiosis as compared to the

use of sulphonamides.

6. Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the following for

their contributions towards this work FACT Rusape for

providing all the requirements that were needed for this

research. Our sincere gratitude to Dr. C. Zimudzi, of the

University of Zimbabwe Botany department, Dr. E. Ku-

pahwana from Makoni District Veterinary department,

Dr. Swiswa from Central Veterinary Laboratories and Mr.

A. Samutsa from Livestock Production Department, Ma-

koni District.

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