The development of drug resistance in Eimeria is common because of extensive use of anticoccidial drugs for the control of avian coccidiosis. The significance of chemotherapy is evident from the fact that, in spite of advancement in the field of immunological, biotechnological and genetic methods, prophylactic chemotherapy with anticoccidial drugs is still widely used for the control of coccidiosis. In such situations, new drugs should be available to replace the older ones against which resistance has developed, however it takes a long time to develop any new compounds. It is therefore currently necessary to develop strategies to minimise the emergence of resistance in Eimeria strains and to prolong the effect of available anticoccidial drugs. This paper summarises the resistance status of Eimeria species in different parts of the world and reviews different types of resistance, mechanism of resistance development, factors involved in the development and spread of resistance, management of resistant strains and strategies to preserve the efficacy of the available anticoccidial drugs. Use of vaccines, synthetic and botanical anticoccidials and educating farmers about recommended coccidiosis control practices are discussed in this review, along with the integration of currently available options for the management of drug resistance and, ultimately, the control of coccidiosis.

Coccidiosis is recognized as the major parasitic disease of poultry and is caused by the apicomplexan protozoan Eimeria. In the past, conventional disease control strategies have depended mainly on anticoccidial drugs and, to a certain extent, live vaccines. Anticoccidial drugs have played a major role in the effective control of avian coccidiosis, but, their extensive use has resulted in the emergence of drug resistant coccidian strains. In such situations, new drugs should be available to replace the older ones against which resistance has developed, however it takes a long time to develop any new compounds. Because of the high cost of developing new drugs and vaccines, development of drug resistance and concerns over drug residues associated with the continuous use of these chemicals, there is a renewed interest in the use of botanicals for safe, effective and cheap control of avian coccidiosis. Several poultry scientists all over the world are now actively engaged in research into the use of plants and plant derived products to fight and reduce the heavy economic losses in poultry industry caused by coccidiosis. This paper reviews the research on botanicals, herbal complexes and commercially available botanical products having anticoccidial properties against avian coccidiosis. Information regarding active compounds, doses and mechanism of action of plants provided in this paper may serve as a guideline for the use of botanical anticoccidial agents as a part of integrated control strategies for the effective control of resistant coccidian parasites.

Parasitic infections are a major public health concern affecting millions of people universally. This review elaborates on the potential impacts of plants and their bioactive components that have been widely used in the cure of several parasitic infections of poultry. The medicinal importance of natural herbs depends upon their bioactive ingredients, which are originated from crude plants, consequently leading to the specific action on the body. Due to the limited availability of effective drugs and high cost, the development of drug resistance in several harmful parasites and microbes leads to huge economic losses in the poultry industry. This will impose the development of innovative sources for drugs to overwhelm the therapeutic failure. Moreover, the environment-friendly feed additives which can be applied as a substitute to antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) for broilers were proven. The application of natural products with therapeutic characteristics is an ancient practice that is appropriately gaining more acceptance. Globally, it is assessed that some 20,000 species of higher plants are used medicinally, although traditional medicine has a scarcity of knowledge on its efficiency and wellbeing. This review explores the usage of medicinal herbs for parasitic infections, emphasizing the recent knowledge available while detecting the research gaps which may be explored to find the usage of herbal medicines for parasitic infections in poultry. In conclusion, herbal medicines are the effective source of prime components for drug detection and the formation of phytopharmaceuticals in the control of devastating parasitic infections. There is a prerequisite to applying the traditional medicine information in clinical applications via value addition.