Coccidiosis, a parasitic disease caused by Eimeria, has a catastrophic effect on the world's poultry industry. Synthetic anticoccidial drugs are being used commercially for the prevention and treatment of disease and are being stopped in their normal use because of drug resistance and problems affecting the population’s health. Several alternatives are being proposed, with essential oils being some of the novel substances to be used against this disease experimentally. The application of the essential oil of Chinese cardamom (Lanxangia tsao-ko) in the prevention of protozoal infection in broiler chickens was tested in this experiment. A total of 270 broiler chickens were reared and grouped into 6 groups, with each group to obtain randomization. Essential oil of Chinese cardamom was administered to three groups at 1, 2, and 3% concentrations, and the remainder of the three was medicated control, infected 006Eon-medicated control, and non-infected non-medicated control group, respectively. The parameters on the effect on the coccidial parameters (lesion score, oocyst score, oocyst per gram of feces, and fecal score), performance parameters (feed intake, weight gain, feed ratio, organ weight ratios and percent mortality), and hematological and serum parameters were estimated. The results showed that the 3% essential oil significantly (P<0.05) decreased lesion scores (1.33 vs. 4.0), oocyst scores, oocyst per gram (1.33×10⁴ vs. 3.66×10⁴), and mortality (4.44 vs. 35.55%). It also improved weight gain and feed conversion when compared to the infected non-medicated control group. Following the anticoccidial potential of the essential oil of Chinese cardamom, its application can be considered in the control programs of coccidiosis in broiler chickens.

To Cite This Article: Abbas AO, Shawky M, Assiri A, Alaqil AA, Safaa HM and Mustafa ES, 2026. Anticoccidial activity of Chinese cardamom (Lannxangia tsao-ko) essential oil in broiler chicken. Pak Vet J, 46(5): 1276-1283. http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2026.114