ORIGINAL PAPER
Effect of dried roots of Astragalus membranaceus
in the diets of young growing pigs on growth
performance and immune function
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1
Zhengzhou College of Animal Husbandry Engineering,
Zhengzhou, 450008, P.R. China
2
Key Laboratory of Molecular Animal Nutrition of Ministry of Education,
Feed Science Institute, Zhejiang University, No. 164 Qiutao North Road, Hangzhou, 310029, P.R. China
3
Institute of Dairy Science and Industry, Zhejiang University,
Hangzhou, 310029, P.R. China
Publication date: 2006-11-06
Corresponding author
C. L. Xu
Key Laboratory of Molecular Animal Nutrition of Ministry of Education,
Feed Science Institute, Zhejiang University, No. 164 Qiutao North Road, Hangzhou, 310029, P.R. China
Y. Z. Wang
Key Laboratory of Molecular Animal Nutrition of Ministry of Education,
Feed Science Institute, Zhejiang University, No. 164 Qiutao North Road, Hangzhou, 310029, P.R. China
J. Anim. Feed Sci. 2006;15(4):599-607
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
The experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of Astragalus powder prepared by
using different comminution techniques on growth performance and immune function of pigs.
Duroc×Landrace×Yorkshire young growing pigs (n=90, female, 60 days of age, liveweight
21.88±1.26 kg) were randomly allocated to three treatments. Each treatment had three replicates
with ten pigs per pen. The basal diets were not supplemented or supplemented (5 g/kg) with 80 mesh
Astragalus (180 μm), or micron Astragalus (6.32 μm), respectively; the feeding experiment lasted
30 days. After completion of the feeding experiment, three animals from each treatment were chosen
to determine the effect of Astragalus on immune function. Results showed that supplementation with
micron Astragalus significantly increased (P<0.05) average daily gain (ADG), both Concanavalin
(ConA) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced splenocyte and peripheral lymphocyte proliferation,
and significantly increased (P<0.05) serum IgG, IgA, IL-1α and IL-2 concentrations compared with
the control groups. Supplementation with 80 mesh Astragalus only increased (P<0.05) serum IgA,
IL-1α and IL-2 concentrations compared with control. The results indicated that micron Astragalus
was more effective than 80 mesh Astragalus in improving growth performance and enhancing
immune function of pigs.
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