Effect of coccidiosis on the enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidative systems in broilers

This report describes an investigation of the effects of coccidial infection on enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidative systems in hemolyzed blood and liver homogenate from broilers (glutathione - GSH, glutathione reductase - GSHR, glutathione peroxidase - GSH Px, peroxidase - Px, superoxide dismutase - SOD, xanthine oxidase - XOD and lipid peroxidation - LPx). The in vivo investigations were carried out on heavy-line broilers (Arbor acres) of both sexes. One day old broilers were randomly distributed into two groups each amounting to 60 chickens: I - control group; II - broilers inoculated with laboratory - derived coccidia species. Inoculation of 22-day old broilers of the experimental group II was performed by p. o. administration of a coccidial suspension containing 2.000 oocysts of Eimeria (E. tenella, E. mitis, and E. necatrix). Decapitation and blood sampling was performed when the control chickens were 32 days old and in the experimental group when symptoms of coccidiosis appeared. It was concluded that infection of the broilers with coccidia intensifies free radical processing in hemolyzed blood and liver homogenate. This was evident from the increased levels of GSH and LPx catalytic activity of almost all tested enzymes. Changes in the level of enzymamtic activity were more pronounced in the blood than in the liver of the infected birds