RESUMO
The present study was carried out to clarify the effect of Eimeria acervulina on pH values of different parts of small intestine as well as the activities of trypsin, amylase and lipase enzymes of intestinal contents. Sixty 15-day old coccidia-free White Leghorn chickens were used. The chickens were divided into two groups. The first group [20 chicken] was kept as non-infected control. The second group [40 chicken] was infected with 50000 sporulated oocysts of Eimeria acervulina per chick. The results indicated that the pH values of duodenal and jejunal of infected chickens showed significant decrease than control ones, while there was no significant variation in pH values of ileal contents. Tryptic, amylolytic and lipolytic activities in duodenal and jejunal contents of infected group with E. acervulina recorded a significant decrease than their respective control. The activities of the previous enzymes of the ileal content of infected chicken showed no significant differences as compared with control ones. It is concluded that E. acervulina infection inhibit the digestive enzymes and processes of digestion in the small intestine