Efficacy of Astragalus Polysaccharide versus Enrofloxacin on Campylobacter Jejuni Colonization in Broiler Chickens

Campylobacteriosis is the world's most common zoonotic disease, affecting broiler chickens. A study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of Astragalus polysaccharides (APS) versus the antibiotic enrofloxacin (ENR) in controlling Campylobacter jejuni. A total of 160 Hubbard broiler chicks ( 1 day old) were randomly divided into eight groups: healthy chicks (H), healthy chicks given ENR (HA), APS (HP), both (HAP), experimentally infected chicks (I), infected chicks given ENR (IA), APS (IP), and both (IAP). On days 18 and 35, the Campylobacter load was assessed in the cecal contents. The study also evaluated serum immune parameters at various intervals post-infection. Three chickens were slaughtered after the last oral dose of ENR to determine ENR and its metabolite ciprofloxacin (CIP) residues by HPLC in different tissues. The experiment involved estimating the antioxidants of breast muscles, as well as their physico-chemical characteristics, along with measuring serum liver enzymes. The treated groups showed a significant decrease in bacterial count, with no growth observed in the IA and IAP groups after 35 days. ENR and APS significantly reduced serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) and nitric oxide (NO) levels in infected groups while increasing lysozyme levels in all experimental groups. APS lowered MDA levels and increased both SOD and GSH levels in breast muscle. Serum ALT and AST activities were higher in I- and IA- groups compared to healthy and APS-administered groups. APS did not affect marker residue concentrations in the HAP group tissues, but increased concentrations in the IAP group tissues without an increase in drug withdrawal time (3 days). These findings suggest that APS is necessary to improve meat quality and immunity, reduce oxidative damage induced by enrofloxacin and infection, and demonstrate anti-Campylobacter action in vivo.