Anticoccidial efficacy of a cinnamon-Rumex nervosus phytobiotic mixture on growth performance, carcass traits, cecal morphology, and cecal health in Eimeria tenella-challenged broilers.

Coccidiosis remains a major constraint in poultry production; therefore, this study evaluated the anticoccidial efficacy of a phytogenic blend of cinnamon bark and Rumex nervosus leaf in Eimeria tenella-challenged broilers. Birds were assigned to six treatments: low (PL-C), medium (PM-C), and high (PHC) phytogenic, a standard anticoccidial (STD-C), an infected untreated control (IUC), and an unchallenged untreated control (UUC). All groups except UUC were orally challenged on day 15 with 2 × 104 sporulated Eimeria tenella oocysts per bird, and performance and anticoccidial responses were evaluated during 7 days post-inoculation (DPI). The phytogenic blend was selected for the complementary biological activities of cinnamon and Rumex nervosus and was characterized by abundant phenolic compounds, particularly gallic acid and cinnamaldehyde derivatives, associated with antiparasitic, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and gut-protective effects. Infection markedly impaired growth performance, feed efficiency, performance index, and European production efficiency factor in the IUC group. Dietary phytogenic supplementation alleviated these adverse effects (P < 0.05) by reducing oocyst output (24.2-31.0%), increasing oocyst inhibition rates (69.0-75.8%), and lowering lesion severity and bloody diarrhea scores compared with IUC. Among phytogenic treatments, PHC exhibited the strongest anticoccidial activity, with the lowest oocyst counts and improved cecal morphometric recovery, particularly reduced cecal wall thickness, whereas PL-C showed the greatest improvement in body weight gain and production performance among phytogenic groups. Anticoccidial index values indicated marked anticoccidial activity for phytogenic treatments (162.3-167.8) and excellent activity for STD-C (187.5), compared with inactive status in IUC (83.6). Phytogenic supplementation also improved cecal integrity through increased villus height, reduced crypt depth, and enhanced villus height-to-crypt depth ratio, indicating improved absorptive capacity and mucosal recovery. Overall, the cinnamon- Rumex nervosus blend effectively mitigated Eimeria tenella-induced damage and demonstrated strong potential as a natural alternative to conventional anticoccidials, although its efficacy remained slightly lower than the standard drug treatment.