Effect of the Polysaccharide Extract from the Edible Mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus Against Infectious Bursal Disease Virus

Summary

This research investigated how extracts from oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) can help improve vaccine effectiveness in young chickens. The study found that adding mushroom extracts to drinking water helped stimulate the immune system and increase antibody production when used alongside standard vaccines. Impacts on everyday life: – Improved vaccine effectiveness could lead to healthier poultry and safer food supply – Natural mushroom extracts offer a safe way to enhance animal immune systems – Could reduce the need for antibiotics in poultry farming – May lead to more cost-effective poultry farming practices – Demonstrates potential applications of mushroom compounds in veterinary medicine

Background

Traditionally, many types of mushrooms have been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine and as functional foods in Asian countries due to their immunomodulatory, anti-neoplastic, anti-hyperglycemic and lipid-reducing properties. Polysaccharides from mushrooms, especially high-molecular-weight β-d-glucan, have shown anti-cancer activity and direct inhibitory effects on cancer cell growth. The polysaccharide-containing extracellular fractions of Pleurotus ostreatus have demonstrated immunomodulating effects.

Objective

To investigate the synergistic relations between polysaccharide extracts from Pleurotus ostreatus and BIAVAC/BIAROMVAC vaccines in stimulating the immune system of commercial poultry, which are extremely vulnerable in their first days of life.

Results

Unvaccinated broilers showed slow stimulation of maternal antibodies against IBD when treated with EF. Broilers vaccinated with BIAVAC and BIAROMVAC initially showed low to almost complete lack of IBD maternal antibodies, but adding 5% and 15% EF in water intake increased antibody levels significantly. The combination of vaccines with EF showed improved stimulation of IBD antibody production during the critical first days of life.

Conclusion

The study demonstrated that using combinations of BIAVAC/BIAROMVAC vaccines with extracellular fractions from P. ostreatus effectively stimulates IBD antibody production in young chickens during their critical early life period. The immunomodulatory effects were rationalized through newly proposed reactivity biological activity principles examining parabolic relationships between EF administration and biological activity.
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