Effects of Phyllanthus amarus on faecal loads of Salmonella enteritidis and castor-oil induced diarrhoea in broiler chickens

A 21 day study on the antibacterial and antidiarrhoeal potentials of methanol extract of Phyllanthus amarus leaf (PAL) in Salmonella  enteritidis (SE) and castor oil (CO) induced diarrhoea in broiler chickens was conducted. Seventy-five, 5 week old broiler chickens were randomly allotted to seven treatments; T1= distilled water, T2= SE inoculum, T3= SE + PAL, T4 = SE + Enrofloxacin, T5 = CO, T6 = CO + PAL and T7 = CO + Loperamide. T1 – T4 were replicated thrice whereas T5 to T7 had 5 birds each. T2 – T4 received SE orally with T3 and T4 continued on PAL for another 4 days. Faeces were collected weekly post infection from T1 – T4. CO was administered to T1, T5, T6 and T7 18 hours post-fasting. PAL reduced faecal Salmonella counts as the weeks progressed. PAL inhibited diarrhea better than Loperamide. Therefore, PAL could be used as an antibacterial and antidiarrhoeal in broiler chickens.