Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-zzh7m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T04:40:09.777Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effects of dietary Astragalus polysaccharide on growth performance and immune function in weaned pigs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

S.L. Yuan ,
X.S. Piao ,
D.F. Li ,
S.W. Kim ,
H.S. Lee  and
P.F. Guo
S.L. Yuan
Affiliation:
National Key Lab of Animal Nutrition, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, People's Republic of China
X.S. Piao*
Affiliation:
National Key Lab of Animal Nutrition, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, People's Republic of China
D.F. Li
Affiliation:
National Key Lab of Animal Nutrition, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, People's Republic of China
S.W. Kim
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409, USA
H.S. Lee
Affiliation:
National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Anyang 430824, Korea
P.F. Guo
Affiliation:
National Key Lab of Animal Nutrition, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, People's Republic of China
*
†Dr. Xiang Shu Piao. Present address: No. 2, Yuanmingyuan West Road, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, People's Republic of China. E-mail: piaoxsh@mafic.ac.cn
Get access

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of a polysaccharide isolated from Astragalus membranaceus (APS) on performance and immune responses in weaned pigs. A total of 144 crossbred pigs weaned at 26 to 30 days of age with an average initial live weight (LW) of 7·64 (s.d. 0·290) kg were randomly allotted to six diets supplemented with APS at 0, 100, 250, 500, 750, and 1000 mg/kg. There were six replicates (three barrow pens and three gilt pens) per diet treatment with four pigs per pen. Pigs were given food ad libitum for 21 days and the LW and food intake were measured on days 14 and 21. Pigs were intramuscularly injected with 1 mg/kg LW ovalbumin (OVA) on day 14 to evaluate humoral immune response. Blood samples were collected on day 21 to measure leukocyte differential counts, percentage of blood CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocyte subsets, lymphocyte proliferation response to Concanavalin A, serum concentration of immunoglobulin G (Ig G), interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-10 (IL-10), interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and specific OVA antibody. The results showed that the average daily gain, the numbers of WBC and lymphocytes, the proportion of CD4+ lymphocyte subset, and the contents of IL-2 and IFN-γ increased ( P < 0·05) as pigs were fed increased supplemental level of APS during the 21 d period. However, the contents of specific OVA antibody, Ig G, IL-4, and IL-10 were not affected ( P > 0·05) by dietary levels of APS. The broken line analysis and quadratic regression analysis indicate that the optimal APS supplemental level would be between 381 mg/kg and 568 mg/kg for the maximal ADG and from 324 to 563 mg/kg for immune responses. Collectively, this study suggests that dietary APS can be used as a potential immuno-modulating agent by affecting cellular immunity of weaned pigs.

Keywords

Astragalus polysaccharidegrowthimmune responsepigs
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Science , Volume 82 , Issue 4 , August 2006 , pp. 501 - 507
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Blecha, F. and Charley, B. 1990. Rationale for using immunpotentiators in domestic food animals. In Immunomodulation in domestic food animals (ed. Blecha, F. and Charley, B.), pp. 3–19. Academic Press, San Diego, CA.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chen, H. L., Li, D. F., Chang, B. Y., Gong, L. M., Dai, J. G. and Yi, G. F. 2003. Effects of Chinese herbal polysaccharides on the immunity and growth performance of young broilers. Poultry Science 82: 364–370.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dritz, S. S., Shi, J., Kielian, T. L., Goodband, R. D., Nelssen, J. L., Tokach, M. D., Chengappa, M. M., Smith, J. E. and Blecha, F. 1995. Influence of dietary beta-glucan on growth performance, nonspecific immunity, and resistance to streptococcus suis infection in weanling pigs. Journal of Animal Science 73: 3341–3350.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Duan, P. and Wang, Z. M. 2002. Clinical study on effect of Astragalus in efficacy enhancing and toxicity reducing of chemotherapy in patients of malignant tumor. Chinese Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine 22: 515–517.Google ScholarPubMed
Dubois, M., Gilles, K. A., Hamilton, J. K., Rebers, P. A. and Smith, F. 1956. Colorimetric method for determination of sugars and related substances. Analytical Chemistry 28: 350–356.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fang, J. N. 1988. Chemical structure of a glucan from Astragalus mongholicus. Acta Chimica Sinica 46: 1101–1104.Google Scholar
Fiorentino, D. F., Bond, M. W. and Mosmann, T. R. 1989. Two types of mouse T helper cell: IV. Th2 clones secrete a factor that inhibits cytokine production by Th1 clones. The Journal of Experimental Medicine 170: 2081–2095.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fiorentino, D. F., Zlotnik, A., Mosmann, T. R., Howard, M. and O'Garra, A. 1991. IL-10 inhibits cytokine production by activated macrophages. Journal of Immunology 147: 3815–3822.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hiss, S. and Sauerwein, H. 2003. Influence of dietary ß-glucan on growth performance, lymphocyte proliferation, specific immune response and haptoglobin plasma concentrations in pigs. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition 87: 2–11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ji, F., Wu, G., Blanton, J. R. and Kim, S. W. 2005. Weight and compositional changes in pregnant gilts and its implication to nutrition. Journal of Animal Science 83: 366–375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kong, X., Hu, Y., Rui, R., Wang, D. and Li, X. 2004. Effects of Chinese herbal medicinal ingredients on peripheral lymphocyte proliferation and serum antibody titer after vaccination in chicken. International Immunopharmacology 4: 975–982.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kurashige, S., Akuzawa, Y. and Endo, F. 1999. Effects of astragali radix extract on carcinogenesis, cytokine production, and cytotoxicity in mice treated with a carcinogen, N-butyl-N'-butanolnitrosoamine. Cancer Investigation 17: 30–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lai, C., Yin, J., Li, D., Zhao, L. and Chen, X. 2005. Effect of dietary conjugated linoleic acid supplementation on performance and immune function of weaned pigs. Archives of Animal Nutrition 59: 41–45.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lee, K. Y. and Jeon, Y. J. 2005. Macrophage activation by polysaccharide isolated from Astragalus membranaceus. International Immunopharmacology 5: 1225–1233.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Li, N., She, R. P., Han, L. J. and Wang, K. Z. 2004. Effect of Astragalus root extractions on chicken growth and immunological function. Chinese Journal of Veterinary Science and Technology 34: 61–64.Google Scholar
McPherson, R. L., Ji, F., Wu, G. and Kim, S. W. 2004. Fetal growth and compositional changes of fetal tissues in the pigs. Journal of Animal Science 82: 2534–2540.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mao, S. P., Cheng, K. L. and Zhou, Y. F. 2004. Modulatory effect of Astragalus membranaceus on Th1/Th2 cytokine in patients with herpes simplex keratitis. Chinese Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine 24: 121–123.Google ScholarPubMed
Mao, X. F., Piao, X. S., Lai, C. H., Li, D. F., Xing, J. J. and Shi, B. L. 2005. Effects of β-glucan obtained from the Chinese herb Astragalus membranaceus and lipopolysaccharide challenge on performance, immunological, adrenal, and somatotropic responses of weaned pigs. Journal of Animal Science 83: 2775–2782.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mosmann, T. 1983. Rapid colorimetric assay for cellular growth and cytotoxicity assays. Journal of Immunological Methods 65: 55–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mosmann, T. R., Cherwinski, H., Bond, M. W., Giedlin, M. A. and Coffman, R. L. 1986. Two types of murine helper T cell clone. I. Definition according to profiles of lymphokine activities and secreted proteins. Journal of Immunology 136: 2348–2357.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
National Research Council. 1998. Nutrient requirements of swine, 10th edition. National Academic Press, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Parr, T. M., Kerr, B. J. and Baker, D. H. 2003. Isoleucine requirement of growing (25 to 45?kg) pigs. Journal of Animal Science 81: 745–752.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Raymond, C. R. and Wilkie, B. N. 2004. Th-1/Th-2 type cytokine profiles of pig T-cells cultured with antigen-treated monocyte-derived dendritic cells. Vaccine 22: 1016–1023.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schley, P. D. and Field, C. J. 2002. The immune-enhancing effects of dietary fibres and prebiotics. British Journal of Nutrition 87: (Suppl.2) S221–S230.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schoenherr, W. D., Pollmann, D. S. and Coalson, J. A. 1994. Titration of MacroGard-S on growth performance of nursery pigs. Journal of Animal Science 72: (suppl. 2) 57 (abstr.).Google Scholar
Shan, J. J., Wang, Y., Weng, Y. Q., Xie, C. Y., Liu, D. and Hu, Z. B. 2002. Comparing compositions and immunoactivities of polysaccharide in hair root of Astragalus membranaceus and cultivated A. membranaceus. Chinese Traditional and Herbal Drugs 33: 1096–1099.Google Scholar
Shao, B. M., Xu, W., Dai, H., Tu, P., Li, Z. and Gao, X. M. 2004. A study on the immune receptors for polysaccharides from the roots of Astragalus membranaceus, a Chinese medicinal herb. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 320: 1103–1111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Statistical Analysis Systems Institute. 1996. SAS user's guide: statistics, version 7.0 SAS Institute, Cary, NC.Google Scholar
Staub, A. M. 1965. Removal of protein—Sevag method. Methods in Carbohydrate Chemistry 5: 5–6.Google Scholar
Szabo, S. J., Kim, S. T., Costa, G. L., Zhang, X., Fathman, C. G. and Glimcher, L. H. 2000. A novel transcription factor. Cell 100: 655–669.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tang, X. M., Hu, Y. L. and Zhang, B. K. 1998. The effects of Astragalus polysaccharide on the peripheral T-lymphocyte proliferation of broilers. Chinese Journal of Veterinary Science 1: 54–58.Google Scholar
Wei, H., Sun, R., Xiao, W., Feng, J., Zhen, C., Xu, X. and Tian, Z. 2003. Traditional Chinese medicine Astragalus reverses predominance of Th2 cytokines and their up-stream transcript factors in lung cancer patients. Oncology Reports 10: 1507–1512.Google ScholarPubMed
Wu, G. 1996. Effects of concanavalin A and phorbol myristate acetate on glutamine metabolism and proliferation of porcine intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 114A: 363–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhao, K. S., Mancini, C. and Doria, G. 1990. Enhancement of the immune response in mice by Astragalus membranaceus extract. Immunopharmacology 20: 225–233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, Y., Lin, G., Baarsch, M. J., Scamurra, R. W. and Murtaugh, M. P. 1994. Interleukin-4 suppresses inflammatory cytokine gene transcription in porcine macrophages. Journal of Leukocyte Biolology 56: 507–513.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zuckermann, F. A., Husmann, R. J., Schwartz, R., Brandt, J., Mateu de Antonio, E. and Martin, S. 1998. Interleukin-12 enhances the virus-specific interferon gamma response of pigs to an inactivated pseudorabies virus vaccine. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology 63: 57–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar