Serum level of artemisinin in broiler chickens following multiple oral administration

Objectives: Preliminary studies have shown suitable anticoccidial effects of Artemisinin in broiler chickens but there were no studies about its pharmacokinetics profile including serum concentration, so this study was conducted to determine serum level of artemisinin in broiler chickens following multiple oral administration. Material Methods: 150-one day Ross chickens were divided into 5 groups each with three replicates (n=10). Artemisinin was first dissolved in ethanol and after proper dilution 0, 17, 34, 68 136 ppm of it were administered during days 8 to 44 with feed as multiple doses. At the end of day 44, blood sample taking and serum separation were done. HPLC system with Uv detector was used to determine serum level of artemisinin. Data were presented as Mean ± SE and analyzed using Linear mixed model (P 0.05). Results and Conclusion: Serum levels of artemisinin following multiple oral administrations were very low. It was in the range of 24.68774±0.1299 to 29.24717±1.7288 ng/ml, but there wasn’t any significant between different administered doses (p 0.05). It can be concluded that serum level of artemisinin administered orally to the chickens as multiple doses is low which maybe to be due to low oral absorption and saturable metabolism induction which can be a very important its high therapeutic index and good anticoccidial properties.