Comparative Evaluation of Moringa oleifera and Vacci-Boost Immuno-modulators in Chickens experimentally infected with Newcastle Disease Virus (Kudu 113 Strain)

Abstract

This study compared the immunomodulatory effects of methanolic leaf ex-tract of Moringa oleifera and Vacci-Boost® in chickens experimentally chal-lenged with velogenic Newcastle Disease virus (vNDV) strain. One hundred 21 days old chicks were randomly divided into five equal groups designated A, B, C, D and E. Groups B and D were given 200mg/kg dose of M. oleifera extract from day 21 to day 35 of age in drinking water while group C was treated once with Vacci-Boost® during vaccination on day 21 of age accord-ing to the manufacturer’s instructions. Groups A, C and D chicks were vac-cinated on day 21 of age with Newcastle disease (ND) vaccine La Sota while groups B and E were not vaccinated. All the groups were challenged on day 35 of age. Haemagglutination Inhibition titer, relative organ weights, body weight and Packed Cell Volume were assessed. On days 28 and 35, HI titer of the immunomodulators supplemented groups were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher than those of the unsupplemented groups. The relative weights of the lymphoid organs of the supplemented groups were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher than those of the unsupplemented group. Also, Vacci-Boost® supple-mented group had higher mean body weight although they were not signifi-cantly (p ≥0.05) higher than those of the unsupplemented groups. There were no significant (p ≥ 0.05) differences in the body weight of the M. oleif-era treated and those of untreated groups.