DOI: 10.11118/nutrinet2026_021

COURSE OF OOCYST SHEDDING IN FAECES OF BROILERS EXPERIMENTALLY CHALLENGED WITH EIMERIA IN RELATION TO DIETARY ADMINISTRATION WITH WORMWOOD

David Zapletal, Martina Kosťuková¹, Vlastimil Šimek¹, Lenka Rozsypalová¹, Radka Dobšíková¹

¹ Department of Animal Breeding, Animal Nutrition and Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Palackého tř. 1946/1, 612 42 Brno, Czech Republic

The aim of this work was to assess the effect of feed supplementation with Artemisia absinthium (wormwood) meal on the course of Eimeria spp. oocyst shedding in broilers following their targeted infection using area under the curve (AUC) analysis. Broilers in the control (C) group were fed basal diets without coccidiostat or wormwood herb. Broilers of the CC group were fed starter and grower basal diets supplemented with coccidiostat. Broilers in the P3 and P6 groups were fed diets containing 3 and 6% of meal from whole aerial parts of wormwood in feed, respectively. Collective faeces per pen base were gathered on days 0, 6, 13, 20 and 27 post infection to obtain the final number of oocysts per one gram of faeces (OPG). Then, the AUC analysis of OPG values was carried out. Dietary administration of the coccidiostat robenidine resulted in lower AUC values (P < 0.05) during the main phase of infection and confirmed its high anticoccidial efficacy. Dietary supplementation with wormwood meal did not lead to effective suppression of oocyst shedding (P > 0.05). However, a lower total AUC value was observed in the P6 group compared to the P3 group (P > 0.05); it suggests a dose-dependent effect of the tested plant-based additive on the intrinsic dynamics of the Eimeria infection.

Keywords: meat-type chicken; feed; Artemisia absinthium; oocyst; coccidiosis; area under the curve

pages: 194-201, online: 2026