With the rapid development of my country's animal husbandry, the application of feed additives has become increasingly widespread, which has made a great contribution to ensuring the healthy development of the animal husbandry and meeting people's needs for animal food, but at the same time it has also brought a series of problems. Since most additives are chemically synthesized drugs, such as hormones, antibiotics, etc., while increasing the output of livestock and poultry, the residual amount of livestock products increases, directly endangering human health. People have gradually realized the negative effects of these additives. Chinese herbal medicine is favored by scientific researchers and manufacturers because of its unique mode of action, good effects, no residue, no drug resistance, and no pollution. Strengthening the basic theoretical research of Chinese herbal medicine feed additives and solving some of the problems currently in use will help to make better use of the resource advantages of Chinese herbal medicines in my country and make them play a more important role in animal husbandry production.

Overview

Chinese herbal medicine feed additive, as the name suggests, is a feed additive made from Chinese herbal medicine. Although some scholars classify it as a non-nutritive feed additive, however, because Chinese medicine is both a medicine and a natural product, it contains a variety of effective ingredients and basically has a feed additive. All of the functions of the animal can be used as an independent type of feed additive. In the wild, fur animals are free to eat plants containing Chinese medicine. my country has a long history of using Chinese herbal medicines as feed additives. It has been used to promote animal growth, gain weight and prevent diseases as early as two thousand years ago.

effect

The role of Chinese herbal medicine additives is mainly manifested in disease prevention and health care, improving animal production performance, improving the quality of animal products and improving the quality of feed. Disease prevention and health care are mainly manifested in enhancing immunity, antibacterial and deworming, and adjusting functions; improving animal production performance is mainly manifested in promoting growth, fattening and weight gain, promoting reproduction, etc.; improving the quality of animal products is mainly manifested in improving meat quality and improving Fur and other aspects; the improvement of feed quality is mainly manifested in that many Chinese herbal additives have the functions of supplementing nutrition, enhancing fragrance and deodorizing, anti-mold and antiseptic, thereby improving feed nutrition, stimulating animal appetite, and extending the shelf life of feed.

Features

1. Natural source

Traditional Chinese medicine is derived from animals, plants, minerals and their products. It is an integral part of the earth and biological organisms. It maintains the natural state and biological activity of various component structures. At the same time, it has been tested for long-term practice and is beneficial to humans and animals. Before application, it is scientifically processed to remove harmful parts and maintain pure naturalness. This feature also lays the foundation for the wide range of sources, economic simplicity, and safety and reliability of traditional Chinese medicine feed additives.

2. Functional diversity

Traditional Chinese medicine has dual functions of nutrition and medicine. Modern studies have shown that traditional Chinese medicine contains a variety of ingredients, including polysaccharides, alkaloids, glycosides, etc., ranging from a few to dozens of species, and as many as hundreds of species. According to the modern "structure-activity relationship" theory, its versatility is obvious. . In addition to containing the nutrients needed by the body, Chinese medicine is used as a feed additive to make a reasonable combination according to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, so that the material effects are synergistic, and it produces a full range of coordination effects and a whole body of beneficial factors for the body. Modulation effect, and ultimately achieve the effect of improving animal production. This is unmatched by chemical compounds.

3. Safety and reliability

For a long time, the toxic side effects and drug resistance of chemicals, antibiotics and hormones have made medical experts scratching their heads, especially those that easily cause drug residues in animal products. This has become a concern of the whole society. Traditional Chinese medicine has small side effects, no drug resistance, and should not produce harmful residues in meat, eggs, milk and other animal products. It is a unique advantage of traditional Chinese medicine additives. This advantage conforms to the trend of the times and satisfies people's return to nature and pursuit The desire for green food.

4. Economical and environmental protection

The production process of antibiotics and chemical synthetic drug additives is particularly complicated, and some of them are costly and may bring about "three wastes" pollution. Traditional Chinese medicine originates from nature. Except for a few artificial plants, most of them are wild, with a wide range of sources and low cost. The preparation process of traditional Chinese medicine feed additives is relatively simple, the production does not pollute the environment, and the product itself is natural organic matter, with various chemical structures and biological activities stable, convenient storage and transportation, and not easy to deteriorate.

Mechanism of actionedit

1. Disease prevention and treatment

The effect of traditional Chinese medicine feed additives on the prevention and treatment of diseases of livestock and poultry is to invigorate the spleen and appetite, replenish qi and promote blood circulation, enhance the body's immune function, promote metabolism, and achieve disease prevention and treatment. If the disease has occurred, it is necessary to clear away heat and toxins, clear away heat and dampness, improve immunity, and achieve the purpose of curing the disease. Research and verification show that it has a good effect on bacterial infectious diseases, viral infectious diseases, parasitic diseases and other diseases. Currently commonly used drugs are: skullcap, rhubarb, coptis, yellow flower, cork, honeysuckle, forsythia, golden buckwheat, isatis root, large green leaves, dandelion, ageratum, Bupleurum, Pulsatilla, Andrographis, Sophora flavescens, atractylodes, mountain beans Root, Fritillaria, Aster, Anemarrhena, Licorice, Gypsum, Eucommia, Changshan, Purslane, etc. For example, Beijing Veterinary Medicine Factory uses Chinese herbal medicine formulas of Pulsatilla, horsetail lotus, purslane, yellow board, realgar, myrobalan, Weishi, and Huoxiang to prevent and treat chicken pullorum. 3% of the mixture is used for prevention and the treatment amount is Each 0.5 g, the protection rate is 99%, the cure rate is 98%, and the control group has an morbidity rate of 42%.

2. Health-care and growth-promoting effects

If pine needles, paulownia leaves, codonopsis leaves and mugwort leaves are used to make powder and mix into the feed, it can promote growth and increase yield. After analysis, they all contain rich amino acids, vitamins, and trace elements, so they are called nutritional additives. For example, pine needles contain 18 kinds of amino acids, vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin E, vitamin K, vitamin C and trace elements. The stems and leaves of Codonopsis also contain 18 kinds of amino acids, 12 kinds of inorganic elements and active substances, as well as mugwort leaves, which have the functions of nutrition, disease prevention and growth promotion. For example, feed the chicks with 3% dry paulownia leaf powder mixed feed, the results after 4 weeks, the test group increased daily weight gain by 5.1% to 6.4%, and feed remuneration increased by 5.5% to 6.19% compared with the control group.

3. No side effects and no drug resistance

Most Chinese medicines are plants that grow naturally and are pollution-free. Many Chinese herbal medicines belong to human food and livestock and poultry feeds. Because of the same medicine and food, long-term clinical practice has proved that there are very few toxic and side effects that endanger the safety of humans and animals. According to reports, the application of 40 grams of fresh grass from Zeqi is 10 times the usual amount, and the safe range of treatment of livestock and poultry diseases is large by decocting water and administering once. Traditional Chinese medicine feed additives mostly have compound effects, and their applications are all compound preparations. Modern medical research has proved that traditional Chinese medicine feed additive is a kind of animal and poultry immune enhancer. Its main pharmacological effects are: it can expand blood vessels, increase blood flow, improve microcirculation, excite the nervous system, accelerate the body's metabolic process, stimulate the body's hematopoietic function, promote cell regeneration, increase hemoglobin and the total number of red blood cells, and accelerate the body's rate of obtaining nutrients. Increase the total number of white blood cells, increase the body's immunoglobulin content and HI titer, thereby enhancing autoimmune function, improving disease resistance, feed utilization and production performance. The principle of its prevention and treatment of diseases is that its drug ingredients interfere and destroy the metabolic function of pathogenic microorganisms from ribonucleic acid, deoxyribonucleic acid and energy metabolism processes, and produce a strong inhibitory effect on pathogens, so it is not easy Produce drug resistance and residues.

Animal applicationsedit

1. Application on cattle

Zhang Shuyun et al. (2004) studied the effect of Chinese herbal feed additives on milk cow's lactation performance. The experimental group used Chinese herbal medicines such as Codonopsis, Angelica and Motherwort in a certain proportion, and added 1% of the concentrate to the feed. The results showed that during the observation period (4 months), the test group had 1.70kg more milk per day than the control group and increased by 7.9%, the milk fat rate of milk increased, and the incidence of mastitis was reduced.

Liu Chunlong and others reported that adding 100 grams of Chinese herbal feed additives to each beef cattle per day, the experimental group beef cattle each day gains 1.5kg’, which is 72.41% higher than the control group, and the economic benefits are obvious.

2. Application on pigs

Chen Xiaobo et al. (2002) added extracts of Chinese herbal additives to the feed at the 20-30 kg, 30-70 kg and 70-110 kg stages of pigs. Compared with the control group, the serum IgG levels of the pigs in the Chinese medicine group increased by 23.75%, respectively. 17.66%, 14.79%; IgM levels increased by 25.04%, 22.81%, 5.79%; IgA levels increased by 9.71%, 16.92%, 15.01%. IgG, IgM, and IgA are important antibodies involved in humoral immunity in pigs. The increase in their serum content indicates that Chinese herbal additives can enhance the body's humoral immune function.

3. Application on chicken

Liu Juan et al. (2003) used ten traditional Chinese medicines such as Shenqu, Hawthorn, Chenpi, Huoxiang and Psoralen to improve the quality of eggshells, enhance the thickness, percentage, and density of eggshells, reduce the damage rate, and increase the quality of eggshells. Yield, increase serum calcium content. Wu Zhaoyan used Chinese herbal medicine castration additives (using mustard seeds, white pepper, schisandra, licorice as the main raw materials) to castrate the roosters, and the economic benefit could be increased by 30.2%. Compared with the control group, the test group increased the weight by 166g and increased the weight gain rate by 43.9%. The feed to meat ratio is reduced by 0.44. Wang Degang et al. (2004) selected 5 kinds of traditional Chinese medicine to form additive formulas and processed them as feed premix raw materials, instead of antibiotics and chemical growth promoters for the production of feed during laying hens. Feeding the laying hens with the feed prepared by the Chinese herbal medicine premix can significantly reduce the influence of heat stress on the laying performance, significantly reduce the rate of soft eggs, broken eggs, and deformed eggs, and prolong the laying cycle of the laying hens. The content of lecithin, iron and selenium in the produced eggs is increased, the cholesterol content is reduced, and the content of heavy metals in the eggs is low, and there is no antibiotic residue.

The Hokkaido Poultry Breeding Research Institute of Japan has given that broilers in the first four weeks of the pen add 3% mulberry leaf powder to the feed. Compared with broilers without mulberry leaves, the meat is tenderer, more flavorful, and has a particularly good feel. By measuring the ammonia concentration of fermented chicken manure, the former ammonia concentration dropped from 40mg/kg to 30mg/kg, and the odor was significantly reduced. Wang Degang et al. (2004) added 0.2% and 0.5% Chinese herbal medicine additives to the basic diet of 40-week-old Hailan layer breeders to study the effect of Chinese herbal medicine additives on the production of layer breeders. The test results showed that: 0.2% and 0.5% % Chinese herbal additives increase the egg production rate of breeder chickens by 3.8% and 7.3%, increase the hatchability rate of breeding eggs by 1.9% and 5.4%, and increase the fertilization rate of breeding eggs by 0.8% and 5%, which significantly improves economic benefits.

4. Application on sheep

Chinese herbal medicine additives can promote the growth of lambs and increase sheep's wool production. Gu Xinli and others fed the fattening lamb with a Chinese herbal preparation "promoting growth powder" made of angelica, chuanxiong, rehmannia, astragalus, fleece-flower root, atractylodes macrocephala, and Jike. The feeding was divided into four times, and each lamb was fed separately every day. It is: 5g for 1-3 days, 15g for 30-32 days, 25g for 60-62 days, 35g for 90-92 days, and the test period is 120 days. The results show that compared with the control group, the daily gain of lambs in the experimental group is increased by 15.76, slaughtered The rate is increased by 3.01%, and the feed conversion rate is increased by 18.84.

5. Application in aquaculture

Chinese herbal medicine additives can promote the growth of fish. Duan Ming et al. reported that adding 1% of compound Chinese herbal medicine additives composed of 8 Chinese herbs including Codonopsis, Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, and fennel to crucian carp bait increased the growth rate of crucian carp by 21.5%.

6. Application in weight gain and fattening of beef cattle

As a natural substance, Chinese herbal medicine additives can avoid residues caused by the use of antibiotics and chemical synthetic agents in beef cattle breeding. According to research, some Chinese herbal medicines contain alkaloids, bioflavonoids, pigments and other effective active ingredients that can regulate immunity and promote growth. For example, Chinese herbal additives composed of hawthorn, Shenqu, malt, grain sprout, Atractylodes, Magnolia officinalis, cinnamon, Amomum villosum, Fructus Aurantii and other Chinese herbal medicines can invigorate the spleen and appetite, increase appetite, and promote digestion; another example is the use of Shenqu, malt, raspberry Chinese herbal additives composed of Chinese herbal medicines such as Zi, Zhijunzi, Guanzhong, Cangzhu, Angelica, licorice, etc., adding trace elements and artificial salt can significantly improve the fattening effect of beef cattle; another example is the use of hawthorn, angelica, codonopsis, atractylodes, astragalus, Wangbu Feeding lactating cows with Chinese herbal additives composed of Liuxing and Tongcao can not only significantly increase the milk production of lactating cows, increase the body weight of lactating calves, and reduce the incidence of calf diarrhea, but also can effectively reduce the incidence of diarrhea in calves. Incidence of bovine mastitis. [1] 

Existing problemsedit

Although the research and development of Chinese herbal medicine feed additives have made certain progress, and have achieved good results in improving livestock and poultry production performance and disease control within a certain range, there are still many problems waiting to be resolved, such as large product additions, The active ingredients are unknown, the mechanism of action is unclear, the effect is unstable, the dosage form is single, the research on toxicology and safety is lacking, and the quality control standards of raw materials and products are incomplete.

Currently, most of the Chinese herbal feed additives put on the market are powders or powders. The production process is backward, the production equipment is simple, the processing is rough and simple, the variety is single, and the dosage is generally large, usually 1%-2%, and some are as high as 5 %, this not only increases product costs and wastes medicines, but also affects the nutritional ratio of feed. In terms of the source of raw materials, due to the limitations of different seasons and regions in which medicinal materials are harvested, the content of their effective ingredients is quite different. Therefore, products made through extensive production are difficult to carry out accurate efficacy evaluation and quality monitoring. There are deviations in the promotion and use, and it is difficult to grasp the truly scientific and reasonable usage and dosage.

In the production process, in order to reduce production costs, some manufacturers do not produce according to the original formula, and arbitrarily modify the formula composition and dosage, which artificially causes the product quality to drop. At present, in the national Chinese herbal medicine feed additive market, the real technology content is high, the quality is excellent, and the effect is reliable. There are not many brand-name products that users trust. It is difficult to play a leading role in improving the performance of livestock and poultry production and the economic efficiency of the breeding industry. Requirements for intensive animal husbandry production. The existence of these problems makes the current Chinese herbal medicine feed additives on the market do not conform to the basic functional principle of "micro and high efficiency" feed additives, and it is difficult to realize industrialization, standardization and participate in international market competition.

Development trendedit

1. Use modern phytochemical and instrumental analysis methods to extract, separate and identify the effective ingredients in Chinese herbal medicines, such as polysaccharides, alkaloids, and volatile oils.

2. In-depth study of the mechanism of action of the effective ingredients of Chinese herbal medicines, combined with the methods of modern medicine, nutrition and immunology, to explore the metabolic utilization of nutrients in the body, the mechanism of immune regulation and the secretion and regulation of hormones. How to adjust homeostasis, improve intestinal circulation and microflora, as well as immune response and other physiological and biochemical reactions in the body.

3. Strengthen the research on the compatibility of Chinese herbal medicine and its synergistic mechanism.

4. According to the different growth and development stages of animals and production purposes, and for different feeding conditions, develop and produce refined and specific Chinese herbal medicine feed additives.

5. Strengthen the quality control of the finished products and raw materials of Chinese herbal medicine feed additives, and conduct research on the toxicology and safety of the products. In a word, Chinese herbal medicine feed additive is a kind of green feed additive. It has the characteristics of small side effects and resistance to drugs. Long-term rational use of livestock and poultry can avoid the problem of drug residues. Like microecological preparations and enzyme preparations, it has broad application prospects. .