ABSTRACT
This study was investigated the effect of betaine on blood biochemical parameters, histopathological picture and intestinal integrity in broiler chickens challenged with C.perfringens . A total of 120, one- day-old broiler chicks (Rose chickens) were randomly assigned to one of three treatments: 1) negative control (NC), 2) infected group (IG) and 3) treated group (TG), which were dosed with 1.0 ml betaine/L drinking water, from day one until the conclusion of the end of experiment. At 14 days of age, both the infected and treated groups were orally inoculated with 1×104 sporulated oocysts of mixed Eimeria species. Five days later, the same groups were orally challenged with a toxigenic strain of C. perfringens by inoculating each bird with 2 ml of broth culture (1×108 CFU) per bird. Betaine decreased the severity of necrotic enteritis in (TG) by decreasing the severity of brown diarrhea resulting in a significant (P< 0.05) reduction in the total count of C. perfringens (CFU/g) in the cecum in comparison to the infected and control groups. Betaine supplementation improves blood parameters. Additionally, betaine treatment diminishes pathological lesions in comparison to the infected group.