Biodegrading Wheat Bran with Agaricus blazei and Its Effects on Intestinal Development Identified with Mice

Agaricus blazei Murill is a well known edible/medicinal mushroom used for immune-nutrient food therapies.The biodegradation of different substrates with this fungus may result in different metabolites and degraded compounds,which may enrich the function of the food therapies.In this study,soluble compounds from the culture of A.blazei grown in liquid media with whole wheat bran and its water filtrate,respectively,were compared.Total soluble sugar,arabinoxylan,protein,and amino acids were significantly higher in the fungal culture resulted from the medium with whole wheat bran （43.54,1.56,0.59,and 2.19 mg mL^-1,respectively） than that from the medium with the bran filtrate （17.28,0.37,0.13,and 1.13 mg mL^-1,respectively）.The biodegraded wheat bran with cultured mycelia was fed to Mus musculus Linnaeus as supplementation or as dietary fiber exclusive ingredient.As non-specific food therapies,feeding effects on mice intestinal development were indicated indirectly in growth performance,intestinal absorption and serum parameters.Compared to feeding uncultured wheat bran,feeding mice with culture mixes of A.blazei resulted in remarkably increase in villus height and villus height/crypt depth ratio,which were increased by 25.4 and 31.0%,respectively,when applied as supplementation,and by 44.3 and 43.4%,respectively,when applied as dietary fiber.These increases are concomitant with the higher level of D-xylose in blood serum about 16.9 and 29.2% as supplementation and dietary fiber,respectively.The results implying that culturing A.blazei with whole wheat bran enhanced extracellular metabolism of the fungus and extensive degradation of wheat bran insoluble fibrous compounds.Furthermore,feeding the culture mix including metabolites and degraded wheat bran improved intestinal villus development,proving the nutritional benefits of the A.blazei mycelial cultures.

Effects of Oldenlandia diffusa Polysaccharides on the Structures of Chick Small Intestine Tissues

In order to explore the application effect of Oldenlandia polysaccharides(OPS)in the production of AA broilers,2007-day-old AA broilers were randomly divided into 4 groups,namely groups Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ,and Ⅳ,each including 50 chicks.The control group(group Ⅰ)was fed with basal diet;and the 3 experimental groups were fed based on the basal diet with the addition of OPS at 0.4 g/kg(group Ⅱ),0.8 g/kg(group Ⅲ),and 1.2 g/kg(group Ⅳ)feed for 1 week,respectively,and then fed the basal diet for 4 weeks.At the ages of 14,28,and 42 d,10 chickens were put into death in the control group and the experimental groups,respectively,and the duodenum and jejunum tissue samples were collected for the analysis of the effects of OPS on the structures of chick intestines.The results showed that at the age of 14 d,the villus lengths of duodenum and jejunum in groups Ⅱ,Ⅲ,and Ⅳ were significantly greater than those in group Ⅰ(P<0.05),and the ratios of duodenal or jejunal villus length to crypt depth in groups Ⅱ and Ⅲ were significantly greater than that in group Ⅰ(P<0.05);at the age of 28 d,the villus length of duodenum in group Ⅱ was significantly greater than that in group Ⅰ(P<0.05);and at the age of 42 d,the ratios of jejunual villus length to crypt depth in groups Ⅱ,Ⅲ and Ⅳ were significantly larger than those of group I(P<0.05).It showed that OPS could promote the small intestine development of AA broilers aged 14 to 42 d.