Protective Effect of Litchi chinensis Peel Extract-Prepared Nanoparticles on Rabbits Experimentally Infected with Eimeria stiedae

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The purpose of this study was to determine how effective nanoparticles made from Litchi chinensis peel extract are at treating rabbit hepatic coccidiosis. Thirty-five rabbits were separated into seven groups: infected, healthy, pretreated rabbits infected after two weeks of treatment with 10 mg/kg L. chinensis peel extract-biosynthesized AgNPs and post-treated rabbits infected before treatment with 50 mg/kg amprolium. The findings showed that L. chinensis peel extract-biosynthesized AgNPs are a novel and safe therapy for Eimeria stiedae infection in rabbits. ABSTRACT: The present study used Litchi chinensis peel extract to synthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). This technique is eco-friendly and can be performed in a single step; thus, it has attracted great attention for NPs biosynthesis. Herein, we biosynthesized AgNPs with L. chinensis peel extract and examined their anticoccidial activity in rabbit hepatic coccidiosis induced by E. stiedae infection. Thirty-five rabbits were allocated into seven groups: a healthy group (G1), an infected control group (G2), four groups infected before treatment with 10 mg/kg L. chinensis peel extract-biosynthesized AgNPs (G3, G5) or 50 mg/kg amprolium (G4, G6), and rabbits infected after two weeks of pretreatment with 10 mg/kg L. chinensis eel extract-biosynthesized AgNPs (G7). In this study, both pre-and post-treatment with AgNPs produced a substantial reduction in fecal oocyst output, liver enzyme levels, and histopathological hepatic lesions relative to the infected group. In conclusion, L. chinensis peel extract-prepared AgNPs should be considered harmless and efficient in the cure of hepatic coccidiosis in rabbits.