Comparative effect of Melissa officinalis aqueous extract, sulfadimidine, and vitamin E–selenium on antioxidant parameters in rabbit experimental coccidiosis

摘要

Abstract This study was undertaken to assess the comparative effect of Melissa officinalis aqueous extract, sulfadimidine, and vitamin E–selenium on some antioxidant parameters in experimental subclinical coccidiosis in rabbit. Forty adult Albino rabbits were alienated into five groups containing eight rabbits in each group. The control animals did not receive any infection or treatment. The remaining groups were inoculated with 1?×?10 4 infective oocysts of Eimeria perforans . Blood samples were collected before infection and 4, 8, 12, and 16?days post-infection (dpi) to measure antioxidant parameters. The oocyst number per in feces was calculated from 6 to 11?dpi. The results demonstrated a significant drop in antioxidant enzyme activity in the experimentally infected animals; however, these values were increased following treatment with M. officinalis and vitamin E–selenium. High level of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the infected animals was also noticeable which was reduced after treatment with M. officinalis and vitamin E–selenium. Our findings showed that M. officinalis aqueous extract can increase blood level of antioxidant enzymes in coccidiosis but has no direct effect on oocyst shedding.