Assessment of anticoccidial efficacy of chitosan nanoencapsulated bromelain against coccidia in naturally infected goats in Kenya

The current study assessed the anticoccidial efficacy of chitosan nanoencapsulated bromelain (CNB) against coccidiosis in goats. Bromelain was extracted from the pineapple peels using standard methods while oral solution of CNB was prepared using standard manufacturing methods. The in vivo study was done on fifteen healthy male goats naturally infected with coccidia. The goats were divided into three groups consisting of three treatment groups (90 and 270 mg/Kg CNB, Diclazuril, 5 mg/Kg). The drugs were administered orally for 3 days. Fecal Oocyst Counts (FOC) determined using the modified McMaster technique. The goats were observed for clinical signs on daily basis while body weight was recorded weekly. The level of packed cell volume (PCV), aspartate aminotransferases (AST), alanine aminotransferases (ALT), urea, and creatinine were assessed weekly. At the end of the study, goats were euthanized and gross pathology and histopathology conducted. The results showed that at day 28 post-treatment there was a significantly reduction of FOC of 98.42 and 82.30% for Diclazuril and 270 mg/Kg treatment groups, respectively. The reduction of FOC percentage was significantly higher (p ≤ 0.01) in Diclazuril group than that in 270 mg/Kg. During the monitoring period, there was no mortality or clinical signs observed in the goats. The PCV, AST, ALT, creatinine and urea were in normal ranges for goats. There were no pathological lesions on the goat organs. In conclusion, CNB had high anticoccidial efficacy and was safe for use in goats. Strategies to improve the efficacy of this potential drug should be further investigated. Key words: Anticoccidial efficacy, bromelain, chitosan, goat, nanoencapsulation.