Abstract
BackgroundThe use of antibiotics in animal diets is facing negative feedback due to the hidden danger of drug residues to human health. Traditional Chinese herbal medicine has been used to replace antibiotics in the past two decades and played an increasingly important role in livestock production. The present study was carried out to assess the feeding effects of a traditional nourishing Chinese herbal medicine mixture on kinetics of plasma glucose, protein and energy metabolism in sheep. Ruminal fermentation characteristics were also determined.MethodsFour sheep were fed on either mixed hay (MH-diet) or MH-diet supplemented with 2% of Chinese herbal medicine (mixture of Astragalus root, Angelica root and Atractylodes rhizome; CHM-diet) over two 35-day periods using a crossover design. The turnover rate of plasma glucose was measured with an isotope dilution method using [U-13C]glucose. The rates of plasma leucine turnover and leucine oxidation, whole body protein synthesis (WBPS) and metabolic heat production were measured using the [1-13C]leucine dilution and open circuit calorimetry.ResultsBody weight gain of sheep was higher (P = 0.03) for CHM-diet than for MH-diet. Rumen pH was lower (P = 0.02), concentration of rumen total volatile fatty acid tended to be higher (P = 0.05) and acetate was higher (P = 0.04) for CHM-diet than for MH-diet. Turnover rates of plasma glucose and leucine did not differ between diets. Oxidation rate of leucine tended to be higher (P = 0.06) for CHM-diet than for MH-diet, but the WBPS did not differ between diets. Metabolic heat production tended to be greater (P = 0.05) for CHM-diet than for MH-diet.ConclusionsThe sheep fed on CHM-diet had a higher body weight gain and showed positive impacts on rumen fermentation and energy metabolism without resulting in any adverse response. Therefore, these results suggested that the Chinese herbal medicine mixture should be considered as a potential feed additive for sheep.
Highlights
The use of antibiotics in animal diets is facing negative feedback due to the hidden danger of drug residues to human health
MH-diet = mixed hay of orchardgrass and reed canarygrass; CHM-diet = MH-diet supplemented with 2% of Chinese herbal medicine mixture; SEM = standard error of the mean; NEFA = non-esterified fatty acid
MH-diet = mixed hay of orchardgrass and reed canarygrass; CHM-diet = MH-diet supplemented with 2% of Chinese herbal medicine mixture; SEM = standard error of the mean; BW = body weight; VFA = volatile fatty acids
Summary
The use of antibiotics in animal diets is facing negative feedback due to the hidden danger of drug residues to human health. Traditional Chinese herbal medicine has been used to replace antibiotics in the past two decades and played an increasingly important role in livestock production. Antibiotics have been widely used as feed additive in livestock production for more than 50 yr [1] They have played a very important role in helping animals to prevent diseases and enhance productivity. Their use in animal diets has brought along the hidden danger of drug residues to human health [2]. Most of the Chinese herbal medicine comes from the different parts of perennial herbs, such as the leaves, roots and stems. A lot of Chinese herbal medicine has already been reported to promote growth and boost immune system in pigs, chickens and other animals [4,5,6]
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