ORIGINAL PAPER
The effects of supplementing diets with
Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz rhizomes on
growth performance and immune function in piglets
| 1 |
Laboratory of Chemical Biology & Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Life Science,
Northwestern Polytechnical University,
No. 127 Youyi West Road, Xi’an 710072, P.R. China |
| 2 |
Department of Agriculture and Medicine, China Central Radio and TV University,
No.160 Fuxingmennei Street, Beijing 100031, P.R. China |
J. Anim. Feed Sci. 2012;21(2):302–312
Publication date: 2012-06-18
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
The rhizome of Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz (baizhu in Chinese, AMK) is a well-known
traditional Chinese medicine that has long been used as a digestive and tonic. The experiment
was conducted to investigate the effect of baizhu powder on the growth performance and immune
function of piglets. Duroc × Landrace×Yorkshire piglets (n=72, half males and half females, 42
days of age, liveweight 14.82±0.17 kg) were randomly allocated to three treatments: control,
control+AMK either ground (GMD=180 μm), or micronized (GMD=5.59 μm), for 30 days. The
results showed that supplementation with micronized baizhu significantly increased average daily
gain (ADG) (P<0.05) and decreased (P<0.05) the feed/gain and diarrhoea ratios compared with the
control group. Pigs given 80 mesh baizhu had a lower (P<0.05) diarrhoea ratio than those fed the
control diet. Supplementation with 80 mesh baizhu and micronized baizhu significantly increased
(P<0.05) both concanavalin- (ConA) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced splenocyte and
peripheral lymphocyte proliferation, serum IgG, IL-1, and IL-2 concentrations (P<0.05) compared
with the control group. In addition, supplementation with micronized baizhu significantly enhanced
(P<0.05) PR-39 mRNA expression compared with the control group. The results indicate that baizhu
could ameliorate metabolic status and regulate immune function to improve the growth performance
of piglets, and that super-fine comminution may improve its medicinal efficiency.
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
C. L. Xu 
Laboratory of Chemical Biology & Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Life Science,
Northwestern Polytechnical University,
No. 127 Youyi West Road, Xi’an 710072, P.R. China
CITATIONS (4):
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Effects of a traditional Chinese medicine formula supplementation on growth performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality and fatty acid profiles of finishing pigs
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