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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0BMC Veterinary Research

The comparative effect of ionophore and thymol on growth performance, intestinal histopatholgy and cytokine expression in broilers challenged with mixed Eimeria species

  • Pratik G Kokate1
  • Suresh Gulabrao Jadhao1,2
  • Pranav P Deshmukh1
  • Sunil W Kolte1
  • Mahesh Gupta1,3
  • Shubham P Mandhale1
  • Mukund M Kadam1
  • Sonali D Borkar1
  • Snehil Gupta4
4 affiliations
  1. 1Nagpur Veterinary College, Maharashtra Animal and Fishery Sciences University, Nagpur, 440006 India
  2. 2Department of Veterinary Parasitology, Nagpur Veterinary College, MAFSU, Nagpur, 440006 India
  3. 3ICAR-National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management, Baramati, Pune, 413115 India
  4. 4Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Hisar, Haryana 125004 India
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Abstract

Background: Coccidiosis, caused by seven valid species of Eimeria, poses a significant challenge to the poultry industry. There is a growing interest in natural feed additives to mitigate the detrimental effects of coccidial infections in poultry farming. This study investigates the comparative effects of ionophore antibiotics (salinomycin and monensin) and phytochemical (thymol) on growth performance, intestinal morphology, and mucosal cytokine response in broilers challenged with sporulated oocysts of multiple Eimeria species at 21 day of age of birds. A total of 225 one-day-old broiler chicks were randomly assigned to five groups, group (G) A (untreated unchallenged; (Negative control); G B (untreated challenged; (Positive control), G C, D and E; three challenged groups, each of which are supplemented with salinomycin, monensin and thymol respectively. Performance parameters, oocyst per gram (OPG), cytokine expression (interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) and histopathological assessments were conducted on days 21(0 day post infection(dpi)), 28 (7 dpi), and 42 (21 dpi).

Results: The PC group exhibited high mortality (15.56%) and the highest OPG counts at 14 and 21 dpi, while thymol supplementation resulted in a slower decline in OPG counts at 14 dpi but showed significant reduction by 21 dpi. These findings indicate that, although thymol was less potent than ionophore anticoccidials under the conditions tested but beneficial as a non-chemical alternative molecule for coccidiosis management. Salinomycin and monensin groups had zero OPG counts at both time points. Significant differences in feed intake and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were observed, with salinomycin demonstrating better FCR performance than monensin and thymol. At 7-dpi (28 days of age), the positive control group exhibited marked upregulation of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-6 in both the jejunum and spleen compared with the negative control. In contrast, all anticoccidial-treated groups showed significantly reduced cytokine expression. Among the treatments, thymol supplementation resulted in the lowest jejunal IL-1β expression, whereas salinomycin and monensin produced comparable suppression of IL-6 expression in both tissues. At 21-dpi, cytokine expression in all treated groups had returned close to basal levels, indicating effective resolution of inflammation. Histopathological examination further demonstrated that salinomycin and monensin markedly reduced intestinal lesions and parasitic developmental stages, whereas thymol improved intestinal architecture by reducing inflammatory cell infiltration.

Conclusion: These results indicate that salinomycin and monensin exhibited superior anticoccidial efficacy by effectively reducing oocyst shedding, preserving intestinal histopathology, and attenuating inflammatory cytokine expression, whereas thymol exerted beneficial immunomodulatory and histopathological effects with comparatively lower anticoccidial efficacy, highlighting its potential as a natural alternative to commercial anticoccidials.

Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-026-05794-0.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{kokate2026comparative,
  title = {{The comparative effect of ionophore and thymol on growth performance, intestinal histopatholgy and cytokine expression in broilers challenged with mixed Eimeria species}},
  author = {Pratik G Kokate and Suresh Gulabrao Jadhao and Pranav P Deshmukh and Sunil W Kolte and Mahesh Gupta and Shubham P Mandhale and Mukund M Kadam and Sonali D Borkar and Snehil Gupta},
  journal = {BMC Veterinary Research},
  year = {2026},
  month = aug,
  doi = {10.1186/s12917-026-05794-0},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-026-05794-0},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - The comparative effect of ionophore and thymol on growth performance, intestinal histopatholgy and cytokine expression in broilers challenged with mixed Eimeria species
AU  - Pratik G Kokate
AU  - Suresh Gulabrao Jadhao
AU  - Pranav P Deshmukh
AU  - Sunil W Kolte
AU  - Mahesh Gupta
AU  - Shubham P Mandhale
AU  - Mukund M Kadam
AU  - Sonali D Borkar
AU  - Snehil Gupta
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/06
JO  - BMC Veterinary Research
DO  - 10.1186/s12917-026-05794-0
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-026-05794-0
AB  - Background: Coccidiosis, caused by seven valid species of Eimeria, poses a significant challenge to the poultry industry. There is a growing interest in natural feed additives to mitigate the detrimental effects of coccidial infections in poultry farming. This study investigates the comparative effects of ionophore antibiotics (salinomycin and monensin) and phytochemical (thymol) on growth performance, intestinal morphology, and mucosal cytokine response in broilers challenged with sporulated oocysts of multiple Eimeria species at 21 day of age of birds. A total of 225 one-day-old broiler chicks were randomly assigned to five groups, group (G) A (untreated unchallenged; (Negative control); G B (untreated challenged; (Positive control), G C, D and E; three challenged groups, each of which are supplemented with salinomycin, monensin and thymol respectively. Performance parameters, oocyst per gram (OPG), cytokine expression (interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) and histopathological assessments were conducted on days 21(0 day post infection(dpi)), 28 (7 dpi), and 42 (21 dpi).  Results: The PC group exhibited high mortality (15.56%) and the highest OPG counts at 14 and 21 dpi, while thymol supplementation resulted in a slower decline in OPG counts at 14 dpi but showed significant reduction by 21 dpi. These findings indicate that, although thymol was less potent than ionophore anticoccidials under the conditions tested but beneficial as a non-chemical alternative molecule for coccidiosis management. Salinomycin and monensin groups had zero OPG counts at both time points. Significant differences in feed intake and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were observed, with salinomycin demonstrating better FCR performance than monensin and thymol. At 7-dpi (28 days of age), the positive control group exhibited marked upregulation of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-6 in both the jejunum and spleen compared with the negative control. In contrast, all anticoccidial-treated groups showed significantly reduced cytokine expression. Among the treatments, thymol supplementation resulted in the lowest jejunal IL-1β expression, whereas salinomycin and monensin produced comparable suppression of IL-6 expression in both tissues. At 21-dpi, cytokine expression in all treated groups had returned close to basal levels, indicating effective resolution of inflammation. Histopathological examination further demonstrated that salinomycin and monensin markedly reduced intestinal lesions and parasitic developmental stages, whereas thymol improved intestinal architecture by reducing inflammatory cell infiltration.  Conclusion: These results indicate that salinomycin and monensin exhibited superior anticoccidial efficacy by effectively reducing oocyst shedding, preserving intestinal histopathology, and attenuating inflammatory cytokine expression, whereas thymol exerted beneficial immunomodulatory and histopathological effects with comparatively lower anticoccidial efficacy, highlighting its potential as a natural alternative to commercial anticoccidials.  Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-026-05794-0.
SN  - 1746-6148
ER  -