Abstract
The study was conducted to determine the effect of aqueous extract of Mormordica balsamina and Cucumis metuliferus fruits on Newcastle disease (NCD) in pullets. Ninety (90) pullets were used for the study. The pullets were divided into prophylactic and curative groups comprising 10 birds per group. For prophylactic groups aqueous extract of the fruits at concentration of 2.5g and 5.0g per 100litres of water were given to the pullets ad-libitum for two weeks and then challenged with Newcastle disease virus kudu 113 strain via intra ocular route while for curative groups the pullets were challenged with the virus and then treated with the aqueous extracts of the fruits at 2.5g and 5.0g per 100litres of water ad-libitum. Data collected were analyzed using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) using Statistical Analysis Software version 9.1. The results showed that M. balsamina at 2.5g/100litres of water had very good curative abilities which recorded lower clinical signs, mortality, postmortem lesions, higher antibody titer and higher white blood cell activity with a statistically significant (p<0.05) association while the same fruit at 5.0g/100litres of water had the best results for prophylactic treatments recording least clinical signs and mortality rates and highest antibody titers, highest white blood cell count which was statistically significant (P<0.05). It is therefore recommended that Mormodica balsamina can be recommended at 2.5g/100litres and at 5g/100liters of water for the control and prevention of Newcastle disease respectively to farmers and that further studies should be carried out to establish optimum concentration levels for
Highlights
Poultry production is the fastest growing segments of the agricultural subsector in Nigeria due to the increased demand of animal protein with the ever growing population (Salami et al, 1989)
Plants have been used for various purposes since prehistoric times (Lawrence and Bennett, 1995; Evans, 2009) and medicinal herbs are being increasingly studied by pharmacological researchers (Sinclair, 1998)
Reports of various plants used in the treatment of diseases have been documented in Nigeria (Alawa et al, 2008; Sofowora, 2008), Togo (Beloin et al, 2005), South Africa (Rabe and van Staden, 1997; Lin et al, 1999), Uganda (Hamill et al, 2003), Kenya (Fabry et al, 1998; Matu and van Staden, 2003), Ethiopia (Gedif and Hahn, 2003), India (Harsha et al, 2003; Nandagopalan et al, 2011), Belize (Camporese et al, 2003), Turkey (Yeşilada et al, 1995), Columbia (Ritch-Krc et al, 1996), Panama (Gupta et al, 2005), Italy (Guarrera, et al, 2005), Mexico (Hernández et al, 2003), Australia (Semple et al, 1998)
Summary
Poultry production is the fastest growing segments of the agricultural subsector in Nigeria due to the increased demand of animal protein with the ever growing population (Salami et al, 1989). One of the constraints to the development of the poultry industry is outbreak of diseases (Salami et al, 1989) one of which is Newcastle disease (ND). Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) causes a highly infectious neurological, respiratory or enteric disease of poultry. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) more than 80% of the world’s populations rely on traditional medicine for their primary healthcare, majority of which use plants or their active principles (Gupta et al, 2005)
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