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Simple Summary: Developing new antibiotic substitutes to promote pig growth and health, as well as new feed to improve feed utilization and reduce manure production during the breeding process, have become important ways to solve the current dilemma and promote the pig industry. In this study, we have documented that adding a 2% and 3% digestion-promoting fermented Chinese herbal formula to feed effectively promoted the growth of growing pigs, improved serum immune and antioxidant activities, ameliorated the structure of colonic microbiota, and altered the composition of metabolites in colon contents. In particular, adding a 2% digestion-promoting fermented Chinese herbal formula to feed effectively reduced opportunistic pathogens and increased potential probiotics in the colonic microbiota. This study provides experimental data for the application and feed development of digestion-promoting fermented Chinese herbs for pig production and expands the understanding of the impact of fermented Chinese herbs on the host's gut microbiota and metabolism. (1) Background: the development of new antibiotic substitutes to promote pig growth and health has become an important way to solve the current dilemma and promote the pig industry. (2) Methods: to assess the effects of a fermented Chinese herbal (FCH) formula on the growth and immunity of growing pigs, 100 Duroc × Landrace × Yorshire three-way crossed growing pigs were randomly divided into control and treatment groups that were fed a basal diet, and a basal diet with 1% (group A), 2% (group B), and 3% (group C) FCH formulas, respectively. A sixty-day formal experiment was conducted, and their growth and serum indices, colonic microbiota, and metabolites were analyzed. (3) Results: the daily gain of growing pigs in groups A, B, and C increased by 7.93%, 17.68%, and 19.61%, respectively, and the feed-to-gain ratios decreased by 8.33%, 15.00%, and 14.58%, respectively. Serum immunity and antioxidant activities were significantly increased in all treatment groups. Particularly, adding a 2% FCH formula significantly changed the colon's microbial structure; the Proteobacteria significantly increased and Firmicutes significantly decreased, and the metabolite composition in the colon's contents significantly changed. (4) Conclusions: these results indicate that the FCH formula is a good feed additive for growing pigs, and the recommended addition ratio was 3%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, 168 chicks were randomly divided into two groups to elucidate the effect of fermented Chinese herbs (FCHs) on the intestinal microbiota of Chinese chickens (Gallus domesticus) and provide a scientific basis for the development and application of FCHs feed additives. The chicks were fed a basal diet for 7 days during the pre-feeding period. Thereafter, the control group was fed a basal diet, and the experimental group was fed a basal diet supplemented with 1.5% FCHs for 43 days. After being weighed and euthanised, the chickens were dissected to obtain the caecum content to analyse the intestinal microbiota composition using high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and metabolites using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry. Our results showed that FCHs had no effect on the growth and serum immunological indices of Chinese chickens but significantly increased the bursa of Fabricius index, and reduced the α-diversity and affected composition of the caecum intestinal microbiota. In particular, the relative abundance of Akkermansia increased, and these of Bacteroides, Megamonas, and Faecalibacterium were reduced, accompanied by a change in the composition of caecal metabolites. These results implied that the FCH probably enhance the immune capacity of Chinese chickens. This study provides a scientific basis for developing and applying FCHs as feed additives. However, more research is necessary to elucidate the mode of action, level of inclusion, and the benefits of including the FCH in chicken diets. Fermented Chinese herbs (FCHs) did not change chick growth and serum indices. FCHs changed chick caecal microbiota. FCHs changed chick caecal metabolites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple and efficient method was developed for the chemical fingerprint analysis and simultaneous determination of four phenylnaphthalene-type lignans in Vitex negundo seeds using high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection. For fingerprint analysis, 13 V. negundo seed samples were collected from different regions in China, and the fingerprint chromatograms were matched by the computer-aided Similarity Evaluation System for Chromatographic Fingerprint of TCM (Version 2004A). A total of 21 common peaks found in all the chromatograms were used for evaluating the similarity between these samples. Additionally, simultaneous quantification of four major bioactive ingredients was conducted to assess the quality of V. negundo seeds. Our results indicated that the contents of four lignans in V. negundo seeds varied remarkably in herbal samples collected from different regions. Moreover, the hierarchical clustering analysis grouped these 13 samples into three categories, which was consistent with the chemotypes of those chromatograms. The method developed in this study provides a substantial foundation for the establishment of reasonable quality control standards for V. negundo seeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. ( G. uralensis ) is one of the most widely used herbal medicines. This study was designed to enrich total flavonoids (TFF) from G. uralensis . The chemical profile of TFF was identified by HPLC and colorimetric assay. The TFF mainly contained liquiritin apioside, liquiritin, isoliquiritin apioside, liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin without glycyrrhizic acid. To study the anti-inflammatory activity of TFF, the DMB-induced ear vasodilatation assay and carrageenan-induced rat paw edema model have been utilized. Treatment with TFF showed significant anti-inflammatory activities in the two models. The two in-vivo edema assays demonstrated that the TFF possesses significant dose-dependent anti-inflammatory activity, similar to that of indomethacin at a dose of 500 mg/kg. In rat paws with carrageenan, treatment with TFF (500 and 250 mg/kg) markedly inhibited the expression of IL-1β and iNOS. TFF at all doses noticeably decreased levels of NO and MDA at the site of inflammation, while only i.g. TFF at a dose of 500 mg/kg significantly decreased TNF-α levels in the carrageenan-injected paws. In addition, an increase in SOD activity was induced by TFF at all doses. These results revealed that TFF exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity in acute inflammatory models.