Abstract: The exterminatory actions of pomegranate peel extract to rabbit coccidia oocysts cultured in vitro were studied in this paper. We collected the excrement (24 h, 35 g each rabbit) from eighteen rabbits infected with coccidian, weighing 2.0 to 2.5 kg, separated and extracted the coccidia oocysts with saturation salt water floating method. The coccidia oocysts were cultivated in distilled water, aqueous extract of pomegranate peels, pomegranate flavonoids, pomegranate polyphenols and Robenidine HCl for 24, 48 and 78 h, respectively. The number of rabbit coccidia oocysts was observed with the optical microscope. The effects of different concentrations of drugs and different cultivated time on the amount of rabbit coccidia oocysts were estimated. The results showed that comparing with distilled water group, the amount of rabbit coccidia oocysts separately cultivated in 72 h and 5,10 mg of the four drugs groups reduced, and the reducing number ranged in descending order was aqueous extract of pomegranate peels group, pomegranate flavonoids group, pomegranate polyphenols group and Robebidine HCl group. The onset time of the extracts of pomegranate peel were 48 and 72 h. The amount of rabbit coccidia oocysts cultivated in 24,48, 72 h and 1 mg of the four drugs groups were not reduced significantly (P＞0.05). There were many notes which indicated that the extracts of pomegranate peel were the stronger exterminatory action to the rabbit coccidia oocysts cultured in vitro. The exterminatory action of aqueous extract to the rabbit coccidia oocysts was the strongest, followed by pomegranate polyphenols and pomegranate flavonoids in the 3 extractions from pomegranate peel. The exterminatory action had a certain positive correlation with the dose.

Key words: pomegranate peel extract; rabbit; coccidia oocysts; culture in vitro; exterminatory action