Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of supplementation of Cordyceps militaris fermentation products (CMF) on growth performance and immunocompetence of piglets. The study involved three groups of animals, which were supplemented with CMF (500, 1000 and 1500 μg/kg feed), and a control group. CMF supplementation significantly increased growth performance in weaned piglets. Bodyweight gain, average daily gain and feed intake in animals supplemented with 1000 μg CMF/kg feed were significantly higher in comparison with the control group. In addition, CMF supplementation only significantly increased the synthesis of Th1 cytokines, as indicated by the levels of IL-2 and IFN-γ. The piglets fed with the CMF supplement displayed an increased cellular immune response. Indeed, alveolar macrophages isolated from piglets supplemented with 1000 and 1500 μg CMF/kg feed had significantly higher chemotactic and phagocytic indices than those isolated from piglets that received the control feed or feed supplemented with 500 μg CMF/kg. In relation to the absence of effect on Th2 cytokines, the CMF supplement had no effect on hog cholera antibody titre. In summary, feed supplementation with CMF improves growth performance and enhances cell-mediated immunity. CMF supplementation may thus be useful at weaning to counteract physiological and immunological stress during this period. Keywords: Cellular immunity, growth performance, humoral immunity, Th1/Th2 cytokines
Highlights
Cordyceps militaris is a well-known Chinese medicinal fungus that has been used for a long time as a nutraceutical food in Korea, China and Japan
The effects of supplementation of C. militaris fermentation products were first analysed on growth performance of weanling pigs (Table 3)
The bodyweight gain was increased in animals receiving the feed supplemented with 1000 or 1500 μg Cordyceps militaris fermentation products (CMF)
Summary
Cordyceps militaris is a well-known Chinese medicinal fungus that has been used for a long time as a nutraceutical food in Korea, China and Japan. These entomopathogenic fungi have a wide spectrum of pharmacological activities (Ng & Wang, 2005). C. militaris was reported to improve insulin resistance and insulin secretion (Cheng et al, 2012) This medicinal fungus was used traditionally to cure hyposexuality and hyperlipidemia (Huang et al, 2004; Guo et al, 2010), and to treat asthma and lung inflammation (Wang et al, 2007). The medical potential of metabolites of C. militaris has been reviewed and discussed comprehensively in the past (Das et al, 2011; Tuli et al, 2013)
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