1、 Introduction to Eucmmia Leaf Extract, a green feed additive
1. Background
In recent years, with the increasing attention paid to feed safety and food safety, people have gained a profound understanding of the adverse consequences caused by antibiotic feed additives, and the feed industry has become more cautious and standardized in the use of feed additives.
In 2015, after the "strictest" new "Environmental Protection Law" and "Food Safety Law" were successively introduced, issues such as "healthy breeding, food safety", "antibiotic substitution", and "livestock and poultry health in the post antibiotic era" were pushed to the forefront. Dietary products such as "non antibiotic diet", "environmentally friendly diet", and "clean diet" that conform to the development of the times and represent the trend of feed development gradually became mainstream.
2. The traditional definition of green feed additives
The term "green" is derived from food, meaning that every process from soil to people's dining tables is strictly controlled. Only products that meet the standards in terms of growth environment, production process, packaging quality, and other processes can be called "green food".
With the development of society and the improvement of people's quality of life, animal feed additives are also seeking to be green, healthy, and environmentally friendly. The green additives in livestock and poultry feed include various types such as microecological agents, enzyme preparations, traditional Chinese medicine, oligosaccharides, antimicrobial peptides, and plant extracts.
Green feed additives refer to products added to feed that can improve its palatability and utilization rate, inhibit gastrointestinal harmful bacterial infections, and enhance the body's disease resistance and resistance.
These types of products, regardless of their duration of use, will not produce toxic side effects or harmful substances, and can improve the quality and quality of livestock and poultry products, which is beneficial to consumer health and will not cause pollution to the environment.
"Three parts of medicine are poisonous," and additives are no exception. The addition of low-quality additives or chemical drugs at low doses and for a long time not only harms livestock and poultry, but also pollutes the environment after the residues are eliminated from the body, thereby posing potential hazards to human health.
Arshinefeed has always focused on the research and development, promotion, and application of green natural extracts. Based on years of market experience, it is believed that only those with the following attributes can be called green feed additives:
3.1 Naturalization
This is the "blood" of green feed additives. Both green products and green feed additives, and products derived from green plants, are green feed additives. The Ministry of Agriculture has strict regulations and restrictions on green feed additives and their sources.
The product must have the approval and document number from the Ministry of Agriculture, and the raw materials must have certification from the China Green Affairs Office. Furthermore, the environment of the place of origin must also meet the standards, which means that the air, soil, water and other indicators of the place of origin must meet the prescribed standards, ensuring the "purity" of green feed additives from the source.
3.2 Ecologization
This is the "heart" of green feed additives. On February 23, Hong Kong's Oriental Daily reported that in 2013, China's antibiotic usage reached 162000 tons, accounting for half of the world's total usage, with animal use accounting for 52% and human use accounting for 48%. Over 50000 tons are released into the natural environment every year. Researchers from Fudan University in Shanghai collected nearly 5000 urine samples from children in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, and found that nearly 80% of them had at least one antibiotic in their bodies.
Meanwhile, researchers further analyzed and confirmed a significant relationship between the widespread presence of animal antibiotics in the environment and childhood obesity. Children who are exposed to low-dose antibiotics remaining in the environment for a long time indirectly promote fat production.
Antibiotics or low-quality additives are not only harmful to livestock and poultry, but if not fully metabolized and discharged into the environment, they can pollute the air, soil, and water sources that we rely on for survival, endangering our bodies. It may sound like a joke, but it is a reality that we see. We use antibiotics or low-quality additives, using livestock and poultry as intermediates, and then harm ourselves, forming a vicious cycle.
Therefore, green feed additives should follow the concept of "respecting nature and promoting circular development". Not only should they be added to the diet without toxicity or harmlessness to animals, but even if they are not fully utilized and degraded, they should not be discharged into the environment and should not cause harm to the environment, nor should they affect the purity of air, soil, and water sources.
3.3 Value ization
This is the face of green feed additives. Any feed additive, whether it promotes the growth of livestock and poultry, ensures their health, enhances their resistance, or improves their carcass quality, should have a clear value, and cannot exist solely based on the concept of frying.
To truly bring practical benefits to breeding plants, feed factories, or consumers, these benefits should be directly reflected in livestock or feed, and can be captured by our senses, such as improving appearance to make the fur of livestock smooth, enhancing immunity to make the animal spirit full, improving quality to make the product taste better, etc. If there is no "value" support, any feed additive product will become a tree without roots and a water without opportunities. Even if it is reluctantly accepted by users, once it fails to meet their expectations, it will be immediately removed.
3.4 Standardization
This is the "limb" of green feed additives, which is an essential part of their smooth circulation throughout the world. One is to have corresponding sensory, physicochemical, and biological standards, which users can identify through sensory, chemical analysis, and even biological means; Secondly, there are strict regulations on the target audience, scope of application, dosage, and compatibility, and blind use and abuse are not allowed;
Thirdly, corresponding standards have also been established in the packaging, transportation, and storage processes to prevent pollution and affect the effectiveness. In one sentence, green feed additives should be "controllable and measurable", forming quantifiable and controllable, achieving "there is a law to follow, there is a law to follow", allowing users to choose clearly and use it clearly.
4. Eucmmia Leaf's Past and Present Lives
The Compendium of Materia Medica records: "In the past, Eucmmia took this medicine and became an immortal, named after it.". According to legend, there was a doctor named Du Zhong in ancient times who often helped those in need. One day, when he went to the mountain to collect medicine, he occasionally saw multiple white threads like tendons in the bark of a tree. He thinks that if a person eats these "bones and muscles", they will be as strong as a tree, right?
So he made up his mind to try, and a few days later, not only did he have no adverse reactions, but he also felt energetic and relaxed in his waist and legs. After taking it for a period of time, a miracle occurred. Not only was his body light and healthy, his hair black, but he also became a fairy. After people learned about this plant, they called it "Sixian" or "Sizhong", and later simply called it "Eucmmia".
During the Eastern Han Dynasty in China, the "Shennong Bencao Jing" classified drugs into three grades: "upper, middle, and lower" based on the principles of "nourishing life, nourishing nature, and treating diseases." The upper grade was non-toxic, while the middle grade was less toxic, and the lower grade was more toxic. Eucmmia was classified as the upper grade due to its non toxicity. The "Compendium of Materia Medica" also records that "Eucmmia Leaf is edible.".
Since ancient times, the skin and leaves of Eucmmia have been excellent medicinal and edible products, and are also the first choice for tonifying the liver and kidney, benefiting the waist and knees, removing soreness, and strengthening muscles and bones. Now Eucmmia skin can be used as medicine, Eucmmia Leaf can prevent and treat diseases, and Eucmmia seed oil and male flowers have also been listed as new resource foods by the Ministry of Agriculture.
In 1992, Professor Takahashi Zhouqi from a Japanese university fed eels with Eucmmia Leaf and found that the neutral fat of eels decreased, collagen increased, and muscle cell composition also increased.
Feeding broilers achieved the same effect as eel, with a soft and tender taste; Feeding laying hens can increase egg production and reduce cholesterol levels in older chickens. Feeding pigs with Eucmmia Leaf revealed an increase in amino acid content in the pork.
Eucmmia Leaf Extract uses natural Eucmmia Leaf as raw material, extracts its essence, and maintains its efficacy. It can achieve the same effect as Eucmmia Leaf, and overcome the shortcomings of large addition amount of Eucmmia Leaf, large variation in composition content, and mixed foreign matters. The addition of Eucmmia Leaf in the diet can not only improve production performance, but also improve carcass quality, improve resistance, and eliminate free radicals. It is a green feed additive worthy of promotion and wide application.
Main component chlorogenic acid ≥ 5%; Total sugar ≥ 20%; Flavonoids ≥ 8% 2 Mechanism of action 2.1 Broad spectrum antibacterial effects Chlorogenic acid, flavonoid compounds and other comprehensive effects have significant inhibitory effects on various bacteria. In vitro antibacterial test results show that the minimum inhibitory concentration against Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus beta is 0.0625g/ml.
The minimum inhibitory concentrations for Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi are 0.5g/ml and 0.25g/ml, respectively. The mechanism of action is non competitive inhibition of arylamine acetyltransferase in the bacterial body, which leads to the accumulation of a large amount of arylamines in the bacterial body, disrupting the metabolism of the bacteria and preventing their normal growth and reproduction.
Animal experiments on liver and gallbladder protection have shown that chlorogenic acid has a significant protective effect on liver damage caused by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), acetaminophen, and septum, significantly reducing the severity of liver pathological damage and significantly reducing the number and incidence of liver punctate necrosis.
Mechanism of action: Firstly, by inhibiting the cytochrome P-450 enzyme metabolism system, inducing liver glucuronide binding enzyme activity, enhancing acetaminophen glucuronide binding metabolism, thereby enhancing the detoxification metabolism of acetaminophen in the body and reducing the toxic metabolites of acetaminophen.
The second is to induce the synthesis of a large amount of metallothionein (MT) in the liver. MT can bind to cadmium in large quantities, reducing the distribution of cadmium in high molecular proteins in the nucleus, mitochondria, microsomes, and cytoplasm, thereby reducing the toxicity of cadmium to liver cells; Thirdly, it can promote bile secretion and accelerate the excretion of toxins.
Stimulating the gastrointestinal digestive system significantly increases gastrointestinal peristalsis and promotes gastric secretion, among other pharmacological effects, which can improve the digestion and absorption of nutrients by livestock and improve their utilization rate, thereby promoting their growth and improving production performance. Eucmmia Leaf Extract has been widely used in animal production and animal husbandry.
2、 Pharmacological effects of Eucmmia Leaf Extract applied in the field of animal protection
N1 immune regulation and antioxidant effects
Existing research has shown that Eucmmia Leaf Extract components can enhance immunity by enhancing the body's immune response ability. Other studies have found that Eucmmia Leaf Extract can enhance the phagocytic ability of macrophages in immunocompromised mice, increase serum hemolysin levels, and activate the phagocytic activity of the monocyte macrophage system and abdominal macrophage system.
Enhance the non-specific immune function of the body, counteract the immunosuppressive effect of hydrocortisone, inhibit the delayed hypersensitivity response caused by DNCB, and counteract the decrease in T cell percentage caused by high-dose hydrocortisone. This can increase the T cell percentage in the peripheral blood of S180 mice, enhance the phagocytic function of peritoneal macrophages, and display a biphasic regulatory effect on cellular immunity. It can also stimulate the pituitary adrenal cortex system and enhance adrenal cortex function.
Eucmmia Leaf is rich in flavonoids, polyphenols, and polysaccharides, and has good antioxidant activity.
Many scholars have studied the effect of feeding Eucmmia Leaf Extract or Eucmmia Leaf decoction to animals on improving their antioxidant capacity. Researchers have studied the effect of Eucmmia Leaf Extract on serum antioxidant indicators in laying hens during the late stage of egg production. The results showed that Eucmmia Leaf Extract effectively increased serum superoxide dismutase and catalase activities, and significantly reduced serum malondialdehyde content.
Some researchers have also added Eucmmia Leaf decoction to the drinking water of mixed meat chickens and found that raising them for 2 weeks effectively increased the activity of superoxide dismutase in the serum, and there was a significant difference between the week groups. The age of 6 weeks was significantly higher than that of 2 and 4 weeks. Adding Eucmmia Leaf decoction can also increase the activity of superoxide dismutase in the serum, but the difference between the week groups was not significant.
N2 regulates fat metabolism
The metabolic regulation of Eucmmia Leaf on blood lipids and blood glucose has been widely confirmed by animal pharmacology and even human clinical practice. The meat quality of farmed animals is influenced by multiple factors, among which the content of intramuscular fat and the characteristics of muscle fibers are the main influencing factors, and glucose and lipid metabolism are also closely related to them.
Research has found that Eucmmia Leaf and its components such as chlorogenic acid, syringal glycoside, geniposide, and aucubin can alter the metabolism and distribution of fat in the body, reduce subcutaneous fat deposition, increase intramuscular fat content, and improve meat quality.