Raymond Julien Domaine du mélèze

The Battle Against Coccidiosis. (Dr. Nils Reither)


What is Origanum?
Origanum is a very well known herbalized plant, which has been scientifically selected and specially cultivated for it’s high levels of herbalized oils. The oils extracted from the Origanum herbal plant have shown great influential benefits in the health of most animals and birds, including pigeons.

The most significant property for a pigeon is it's ability to battle and control coccidiosis. OrigoMax a product based on the oils from the Origanum herb plant which shown excellent results in its ability to stop the disease and also preventing future outbreaks.

The Power of Nature:
Plants can offer the best route to new and exciting medicine and feed additives. When plants sense danger they resort to chemical warfare, defending themselves with a powerful arsenal of molecular missiles. These compounds vary according to the type of threat they face, whether infection, injury or an extreme change in temperature. For example, under intense ultraviolet light most plants protect their leaves by manufacturing potent antioxidants called flavonoids, or when attacked by fungi or bacteria other plants manufacture antimicrobial chemicals called phytoalexins. Different plants, living under different conditions produce chemical substances suitable to fight back attects from the surroundings, like UV light, fungus or parasites. By selecting the right plants, formulations suitable to combat also animal diseases can be made.

A Way Forward:
Pigeon fanciers all over the world are faced with a myriad of pathogens that can affect performance and health. In recent times some of the more common pathogens have been viruses such as Paramyxo virus, Herpes virus and Adeno virus, respiratory disease due to Chlamydia and Mycoplasma sp., parasites like Trichomonas, and coccidiosis and bacterial infections due to Salmonella sp., Clostrium sp. and E.coli. The presence of multiple infestations (viral, fungal, bacterial), without the symptoms, can indicate a compromised immune system and lead to imbalanced gut flora and digestive upsets, resulting in secondary infections.

A new product incorporating natural pure essential oil extracted from oregano is a new age tool used to assist pigeon fanciers. Scientists studied over 40 species of Origanum that grow wild. For each species and sub species they produced a unique biochemical map of the chemicals it contains within the essential oil derived from the flowers and leaf fractions, allowing for the creation and identification of a variety of active compounds.

Two of the chemicals present, in varying levels for each Origanum species, had structures and properties that are completely unrelated to existing antibiotics - a boon in the age of antibiotic resistant bacteria. The various wild species of Origanum contains two phenols, Carvacrol and Thymol - known antiseptic compounds. A specific type of Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum is now being grown commercially. Each year a crop is harvested, with the resultant leaf and flower fractions subjected to a process of steam distillation, giving rise to a quantity of pure oil which is incorporated as the active component of OrigoMax.

This oil is highly effective against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, especially against 2 strains of Escherischia coli and Staphylococcus aureus and against single strains of Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Bacillus subtilis and Rhizobium leguminosum (Sivropoulou et al, 1996). These findings support the extensive body of research documenting the inhibitory effects of Carvacrol and Origanum sp. Carvacrol and oil of Origanum has been shown to possess antifungal activity against several Candida sp. with Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC) levels <0.1m g/ml (Stiles et al, 1995) and Cryptococcus neoformans (Viollon et al, 1994), and antimicrobial activity against the food-borne pathogen Bacillus subtilis (Ultee et al, 2000). Moreover, the complete essential oil extracted from Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum and their phenols have also exhibited high cytotoxic activity against cell lines derived from human cancers (Lagouri et al, 1996), inactivation of Salmonella enteritidis (Koutsoumanis et al, 1999), and anticoccidial activity against Eimeria tenella, E. acervulina, E. necatrix, E. mivati and E. bruneti (Spais, 199.Some very recent work has also highlighted some novel ancillary benefits of Origanum vulgare, including the treatment of, and prophylactic use against enteric parasites (Force et al, 2000; DeLuca et al, 1999), which provides a very interesting foundation for future additional research that is highly applicable to the poultry industry. What is of great significance is in contrast to antibiotic growth promoters, there is no evidence of bacterial resistance to oil of Origanum sp. (Ingram, 1997). Also the inhibitory effect of Origanum sp. on bacteria does not impact upon any chromosomal or extrachromosomal mechanisms, thus there is no risk of increasing the bacterial resistance to such important substances as penicillin, streptomycin, etc. The components of Origanum sp. are classified by the FDA as GRAS. Harnessing all of the research conducted on Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum a revolutionary and leading edge product has evolved, incorporating 5 % of the pure essential oil extracted from this species, and is commercially available as OrigoMax.

A number of organisms was tested in with Origanum oil and found effective in certain concentrations (MIC)

Organism MIC ul/ml
Candida albicans 0.195
Clostridium perfringens 0.781
Escherichia. Coli F41 0.781
Escherichia Coli K88 0.781
Staphylococcus aureus 0.781
Salmonella typhimurium 0.781
Salmonella typhimurium 0.781
Staphylococcus aureus 0.391
Escherichia coli (control organism) 0.391

As previously discussed control of intracellular pathogens which mature within the enterocytes of the intestinal lumen of poultry, have been successfully controlled, including disease control by Eimeria sp. (coccidiosis) in birds when Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum essential oil has been present in the diet (Yecapixtla, 1997). An interesting use of great significance for pigeons is the use of Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum as an extra tool for the control of Salmonella infections.

How to use OrigoMax?
The easiest way is to add it into the drinking water in the range of 1 ml per gallon (or 5 litre). The doses can be doubled for up to 2 days.

Suggestions to use in combination with other products.
1. 2 weeks before the racing season start: Give all the birds you intend race, 5 days with anti-trichomonas cure. BERIMAX is an excellent product.
2. The last 5 days before a race give antioxidants, to prevent muscle damage during the flight. OXYGUARD will ensure a high level of antioxidants.
3. Upon return of the race give a strong natural all over disinfectant in the water. CITROMED which is a citrus seed extract is proven to kill all possible infectious agents the pigeon can carry home after having shared basket with many strangers. ALSO DIP THE FEET OF THE PIGEONS IN A STRONG CITROMED SOLUTIONS because the feet are often contaminated with salmonella, virus and parasite eggs. After all, the birds walk around in the droppings when they are all in the basket.
4. Give a gut enhancer during the mid week days. Use OrigoMax alone, or in combination with lactic acid like LACTOMED.
5. If coccidiosis is suspected or confirmed use OrigoMax dubble strength for 2 days, and than normal doses for up to another week.
6. If trichomonas is suspected or confirmed use BERIMAX for 5 days, then CITROMED the next 5 days, and than OrigoMax for a week or so.
The advantage of using all these natural products is that the pigeons are not affected negatively.

Performance:

Loft systems and pathogen incidence vary worldwide. The use of particular feed additives to assist in improving performance will be governed by the circumstances facing the individual fancier. OrigoMax is a new concept based on natural plant extracts backed by a thorough knowledge and understanding of what it comprises and how it works. Trials under various conditions around the world have proven the efficacy of OrigoMax with the following trials providing an insight into the success experienced thus far. Traditionally the occurrence of a coccidiosis challenge meant the requirement for an ionophore/non-ionophore shuttle programme. A study on diseased chicken showed that adding Origanum oil to the food or drinking water gave a dramatic better growth rate compared to the control group not getting this treatment ( 1760 gram versus 1388 gram). In pigeons we have seen that the loose droppings turn normal much quicker when OrigiMax is given. This shows that OrigoMax can give a significant contribution to prevent the negative effect of coccidiosis in pigeons.

Drug or feed?

Origamum vulgare and its oils are classified as a food item in most countries. OrigoMax can therefore be sold without any special permit. On the other hand, the legislations in most countries are quite strict concerning specific medical claims of a product. Phrases like "enhance gut health in birds" can be accepted by the authorities, and are likely to be found on the bottles rather than "against coccidiois and Salmonella" because the letter one refer to specific medical problems.

Key benefits:
· Control coccidiosis
· Reduce risk for Salmonella and other pathogens
· Inhibit fungus
· Improve digestibility
· Improve growth

Article written by: Dr. Nils Reither, DVM, http://www.birdmedicine.org