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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Molecular Innate Immunity
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1347736

Effects of dietary supplementation with medicinal plant mixtures and immunostimulants on the immune response, antioxidant capacity, and hepatopancreatic health of Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis)

Provisionally accepted
Anran Wang Anran Wang Fang Zou Fang Zou Jie Xu Jie Xu Xin Zhang Xin Zhang Xuran Liu Xuran Liu Mengge Li Mengge Li Xiaojing Dong Xiaojing Dong Shuyan Miao Shuyan Miao *
  • Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of tea polyphenols (TP) and medicinal plant mixtures (Astragalus membranaceus + Lonicera japonica, Rheum officinale Bail + Scutellaria baicalensis + Platycladus orientalis) combined with astaxanthin (AST), benzoic acid (BA) and yeast complex on the health status of Eriocheir sinensis. A total of 630 crabs (male crabs: 41.51 ± 1.63 g; female crabs: 47.27 ± 0.79 g) were randomly distributed into seven groups with 3 replicates (male: female, 1:1). These crabs were fed as follows for 8 weeks: basal diet (M1), M2 (M1 + 100 mg/kg TP), M3 (M1 + 2.0 g/kg A. membranaceus + 20 g/kg L. japonica), M4 (M1 + 2.5 g/kg R. officinale Bail + 1.5 g/kg S. baicalensis + 1.0 g/kg P. orientalis), and M5, M6, M7 (M2, M3 and M4 added 600 mg/kg AST +1.0 g/kg BA + 20 mg/kg yeast complex, respectively). The results showed that the activities of acid phosphatase (ACP), alkaline phosphatase (AKP) and lysosome (LZM) in hemolymph were significantly increased in M5, M6 and M7 (P < 0.05), and the highest phagocytosis index (PI) and LZM activity were observed in M7 of female crabs. Moreover, the antioxidant indicators superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) of hepatopancreas were also significantly improved in M5, M6 and M7 (P < 0.05), while the malondialdehyde (MDA) contents showed an opposite trend. Furthermore, a morphological examination also showed the improved the histological structure of hepatopancreas in M7, especially as seen in the clear lumens, no vacuolation and integrity of basal membrane of hepatopancreatic tubule. Taken together, these results suggested that 2.5 g/kg R. officinale Bail, 1.5 g/kg S. baicalensis, and 1.0 g/kg P. orientalis in combination with 600 mg/kg AST, 1.0 g/kg BA, 20 mg/kg yeast complex could improve the non-specific immunity, antioxidant capacity, and hepatopancreatic health of E. sinensis.

    Keywords: Medicinal plants1, Immunostimulants2, immune response3, antioxidant capacity4, Eriocheir sinensis5

    Received: 01 Dec 2023; Accepted: 30 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wang, Zou, Xu, Zhang, Liu, Li, Dong and Miao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Shuyan Miao, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.