Alaa Afif1*, Ali Nisafi2 and Abdel Nasser Al Omar3
1 Tartous Research Center, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research, Syria.
2 Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Lattakia University, Lattakia, Syria.
3 Hama Research Center, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research.
(*Corresponding author: Alaa Afif, Email: alaa.afef88@gmail.com Mob: 0982179887).
Received: 8/ 3/ 2026 Accepted: 2/ 6/ 2026
Abstract:
The research was conducted on (10) farms in Tartous Governorate to isolate and confirm Escherichia coli infection and to study the effectiveness of some antibiotics used in its treatment, comparing them with two orange peel extracts (aqueous and alcoholic) in order to find natural alternatives to antibiotics and reduce their side effects. Suspected infected birds were collected between November 13, 2023, and July 9, 2024, from different areas in Tartous. Clinical symptoms were recorded, and pathological examinations were performed. Samples were cultured in nutrient broth and incubated at 37°C for 24 hours, then cultured on specific media to identify and isolate the bacteria. Susceptibility tests were performed for colistin, gentamicin, azithromycin, and doxycycline, and the results were compared with those of the aqueous and alcoholic orange peel extracts. The results showed the superiority of the alcoholic and aqueous orange extracts over commercial antibiotics. The average inhibition diameters were 10.667 mm for the alcoholic extract and 8.367 mm for the aqueous extract, compared to 9.667 mm and 8.200 mm for the antibiotics colistin, gentamicin, azithromycin, and doxycycline, respectively. This indicates the promising efficacy of these extracts.
Keywords: Escherichia coli, chicken, orange peels, antibiotics.
Full paper in Arabic: PDF