In Vivo Evaluation of Coriandrum sativum Extract Against Murine Eimeria papillata Infection and In Silico Analysis of Its Identified Phytochemicals.

Coccidiosis is a protozoan parasitic disease that necessitates sustainable therapeutic alternatives due to increasing resistance to conventional coccidiostats. This study evaluated the anticoccidial efficacy of Coriandrum sativum methanolic extract (CME) against Eimeria papillata infection in mice. Phytochemical profiling of CME was conducted using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), and identified compounds were subjected to in silico molecular docking. Twenty-five male Swiss albino mice were divided into the following five groups as follows: Group 1: noninfected, nontreated (control), Group 2: CME administered control, Group 3: infected with E. papillata, Group 4: infected+CME treated group (300 mg/kg), and Group 5: infected+amprolium treated group (120 mg/kg). Mice were orally infected with 1 × 103 sporulated oocysts and treated for 5 days. Docking analysis revealed strong binding affinities of several chromatographic CME constituents toward elongation factor Tu (tufA), with docking scores exceeded amprolium's binding affinity. In vivo, CME significantly restored goblet cell counts and upregulated MUC-2 expression. It reduced pathogenic Salmonella typhi and Staphylococcus aureus colonization, downregulated inducible nitric oxide synthase and CD4 expression, enhanced catalase activity, as well as suppressed pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). These findings demonstrate that CME exerts anticoccidial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and culture-based bacterial effects, highlighting its potential as a natural therapeutic agent against murine coccidiosis.