Application of Chinese herbal medicine extract in pet nutrition supplement

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of pet nutritional supplements, and particularly relates to application of Chinese herbal medicine extract in pet nutritional supplements, which comprises the application of Chinese herbal medicine extract in intestinal medicine extract in preparation of nutritional supplements for improving intestinal flora of pets and increasing relative abundance of lactobacillus in intestines, the intestinal medicine extract is obtained by water extraction or alcohol extraction from at least three kinds of raw materials of poria cocos, dioscorea, poplar flower, atractylodes and agastache, the intestinal medicine extract of the present application increases the number of lactobacillus in the intestines of mice, and has no significant influence on bifidobacterium, thereby avoiding the risk of overgrowth of flora caused by blind promotion of all bacteria, and the Chinese herbal medicine extract has a more persistent prebiotic effect, and cannot cause diarrhea, weight loss and other abnormalities.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the technical field of pet nutritional supplements, and more particularly to the application of adding traditional Chinese herbal extracts to a pet nutritional supplement. Background Technology

[0002] A balanced gut microbiota is crucial for pet health, with Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium being two of the most important beneficial bacteria. Current probiotic products suffer from issues such as unstable viability, low survival rate in gastric acid, and difficulty in intestinal colonization. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) herbs, as prebiotics, have the potential to regulate gut microbiota; however, existing research has largely focused on humans or commercially viable animals (pigs, chickens), with limited specific studies on pets (dogs, cats), and most studies only address changes in total bacterial counts, lacking quantitative analysis of specific genera. This invention, for the first time, uses qPCR to quantitatively demonstrate that specific TCM herbal extracts can significantly increase the number of intestinal Lactobacillus (by 73%) without significantly affecting Bifidobacterium, exhibiting genus selectivity and enabling precise regulation of the gut microbiota. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this section is to outline some aspects of embodiments of the present invention and to briefly describe some preferred embodiments. Simplifications or omissions may be made in this section, as well as in the abstract and title of this application, to avoid obscuring the purpose of these documents; however, such simplifications or omissions should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

[0004] In view of the problems existing in the application of traditional Chinese medicine extracts in pet nutritional supplements, the present invention is proposed.

[0005] Therefore, the purpose of this invention is to provide an application of adding traditional Chinese medicine extracts to pet nutritional supplements, with the aim of improving the intestinal flora of pets and promoting the proliferation of lactobacilli.

[0006] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides the following technical solution: the herbal extract is an intestinal herbal extract, which is used in the preparation of a nutritional supplement for improving the intestinal flora of pets and increasing the relative abundance of lactobacilli in the intestine. The intestinal herbal extract is obtained by water extraction or alcohol extraction of at least three of the following raw materials: Poria cocos, Dioscorea opposita, Populus tomentosa, Atractylodes macrocephala, and Pogostemon cablin.

[0007] As a preferred embodiment of the application of the pet nutritional supplement of the present invention, the weight ratio of the raw materials is Poria cocos: Dioscorea opposita: Populus tomentosa: Atractylodes macrocephala: Pogostemon cablin = (15-25):(15-25):(25-35):(10-20):(10-20).

[0008] As a preferred embodiment of the application of the pet nutritional supplement described in this invention, the nutritional supplement does not significantly increase the relative abundance of intestinal Bifidobacteria, that is, the relative quantification of Bifidobacteria is not statistically different from that of the normal control (p>0.05).

[0009] As a preferred embodiment of the application of the traditional Chinese medicine extract in the pet nutritional supplement of the present invention, the effective dosage of the intestinal traditional Chinese medicine extract is as follows: based on the original extract, it is 0.2-0.8 mL / kg / d for mice, with an optimal dosage of 0.4 mL / kg / d; based on body surface area, it is 0.1-0.4 mL / kg / d for dogs and 0.08-0.3 mL / kg / d for cats.

[0010] As a preferred embodiment of the application of the pet nutritional supplement described in this invention, the nutritional supplement is an oral preparation, and the dosage form is selected from powder, tablet, capsule, paste, liquid dosage form, or added as an additive to pet staple food.

[0011] As a preferred embodiment of the application of the pet nutritional supplement described in this invention, the pet is selected from dogs or cats.

[0012] As a preferred embodiment of the application of the pet nutritional supplement of the present invention, the nutritional supplement contains a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient, wherein the carrier is selected from at least one of maltodextrin, microcrystalline cellulose, lactose, and starch.

[0013] As a preferred embodiment of the application of the pet nutritional supplement described in this invention, the nutritional supplement is used in combination with probiotics to synergistically promote the proliferation of lactobacilli or prolong the colonization time of probiotics.

[0014] As a preferred embodiment of the application of the pet nutritional supplement described in this invention, the nutritional supplement is used to improve antibiotic-associated diarrhea, stress-induced intestinal flora imbalance, or promote intestinal recovery after illness.

[0015] The beneficial effects of this invention are: the intestinal herbal extract increases the number of lactobacilli in the mouse gut, while having no significant effect on bifidobacteria, thus avoiding the risk of overgrowth of the gut microbiota that may result from blindly promoting all bacteria. The herbal extract also has a more lasting prebiotic effect and does not cause diarrhea, weight loss, or other abnormalities. Attached Figure Description

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort. Wherein: Figure 1 The bar chart shows the relative quantitative analysis of lactobacillus in the intestinal contents of mice in each group provided by this invention.

[0017] Figure 2 Bar chart showing the relative quantitative analysis of Bifidobacterium in the intestinal contents of mice in various groups provided by this invention. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0019] Example 1: Preparation of intestinal herbal extract - alcohol extraction process.

[0020] Take 200g of Poria cocos, 200g of Dioscorea opposita, 300g of Populus tomentosa flowers, 150g of Atractylodes macrocephala, and 150g of Pogostemon cablin. Grind them into powder and pass them through a 40-mesh sieve. Add 10 times the amount of 70% ethanol (v / w), and reflux extract twice, 1 hour each time. Combine the extracts, recover the ethanol under reduced pressure until no alcohol odor remains, concentrate to a relative density of 1.10–1.15 (60℃), vacuum dry (60℃, -0.08 MPa), and pulverize to obtain the extract powder. The yield is approximately 15.2%. The ethanol extraction process yields higher levels of flavonoids, which are beneficial for antioxidant activity.

[0021] Example 2: Preparation of intestinal herbal extract - water extraction process.

[0022] Using the same raw materials as in Example 1, add 10 times the amount of purified water, decoct twice (2 hours and 1 hour each time), combine the filtrates, concentrate under reduced pressure, and spray dry to obtain extract powder with a yield of approximately 18.5%. The water extraction process yields a higher yield, but the total flavonoid content is slightly lower.

[0023] Example 3: Pet nutritional supplement - powder.

[0024] Mix 50g of the extract powder obtained in Example 1 with 450g of maltodextrin until homogeneous, and package into 5g packets (containing 0.5g of extract). Recommended usage: For dogs and cats, administer one packet per 5kg of body weight daily, mixed into food, for a total of 7 days as one cycle.

[0025] Example 4: Pet nutritional supplement - paste.

[0026] Add 100g of the extract powder obtained in Example 1 to 300mL of purified water, heat and stir to dissolve. Add 50g of glycerin, 1g of potassium sorbate, and 5mL of chicken hydrolysate, stir well, and fill into tubes, 10g per tube (containing 2g of extract). The ointment is more easily accepted by pets. Recommended usage: half a tube (1g extract) per 5kg of body weight per day for dogs and cats.

[0027] Comparative Example 1: Single Poplar Flower Extract Only 300g of poplar flowers were used, and the extract was prepared using the same alcohol extraction process as in Example 1. Experiments showed that the relative abundance of lactobacilli in the mouse gut in the single-herb poplar flower group was 1.12±0.28 (p>0.05 vs. normal control), significantly lower than that in the compound group of this invention (1.73±0.35, p<0.01), demonstrating the synergistic effect of the compound.

[0028] Comparative Example 2: Probiotics alone group Patients were administered Bifidobacterium infantis 1000 mg / kg (equivalent to 10 times the human dose) via gavage for 7 consecutive days. After the last gavage, they continued their normal diet for 3 days before being sacrificed for testing. Results showed that the relative abundance of Lactobacillus in the probiotic group was 2.68±0.90 (p<0.01 vs. normal control). However, after discontinuing the drug and continuing a normal diet for 7 days, the relative abundance of Lactobacillus decreased to 1.45±0.52. In contrast, the medium-dose group of the traditional Chinese medicine extract (0.4 mL / kg) maintained a level of 1.60±0.38 7 days after discontinuation, suggesting that the traditional Chinese medicine extract has a more sustained prebiotic effect.

[0029] Experimental Example: qPCR Detection of Gut Microbiota in Mice Experimental animals: C57BL / 6J mice, male, weighing 18-22g, SPF grade.

[0030] Animal grouping and administration: Animals were randomly divided into 5 groups, with 6 animals in each group. Normal control group: purified water by gavage Positive control group: Bifidobacterium infantis 1000 mg / kg by gavage Low-dose extract group: 0.2 mL / kg of intestinal herbal extract administered by gavage. Medium-dose group of extract: 0.4 mL / kg of intestinal herbal extract administered by gavage. High-dose extract group: 0.8 mL / kg of intestinal herbal extract administered by gavage. The gavage volume was 20 mL / kg, and the gavage was repeated for 7 consecutive days. After the last gavage, the mice continued to eat a normal diet for 3 days, then each group of mice was sacrificed and their intestinal contents (colon segment) were collected.

[0031] DNA extraction and qPCR detection: DNA was extracted from intestinal contents samples of mice in each group using the MolPure® Stool DNA Kit fecal DNA extraction kit.

[0032] qPCR detection was performed using Hieff® qPCR SYBR Green Master Mix (No Rox) reagent on a LightCycler 96qPCR instrument.

[0033] Reference Figures 1-2 Tables 1 and 2 show the experimental results:

[0034] Table 1. Relative quantification of lactobacillus in the intestinal contents of mice in each group (n = 6)

[0035] Table 2. Relative quantification of Bifidobacterium in the intestinal contents of mice in each group (n = 6) Compared with the normal control group, p < 0.05 Statistical conclusions: The medium-dose group of intestinal Chinese medicine extract (0.4 mL / kg) significantly increased the relative quantity of lactobacilli in the mouse intestine (1.73 vs 1.00, p<0.01), an increase of 73%, which was close to the positive control Xiaobifeikang (2.68).

[0036] The low-dose and high-dose groups of the extract had no significant effect on Lactobacillus (p>0.05), showing an inverted U-shaped dose-response relationship.

[0037] The intestinal herbal extracts in all dosage groups had no significant effect on Bifidobacteria (p>0.05), while the positive control, Xiaopeifeikang, significantly increased Bifidobacteria (p<0.05), indicating that the extracts of this invention have genus selectivity.

[0038] The above provides a detailed description of the application of traditional Chinese medicine extracts in a pet nutritional supplement proposed by this invention, and elucidates the principles and implementation methods of this invention. The above description of the embodiments is only for the purpose of helping to understand the method and core ideas of this invention; at the same time, for those skilled in the art, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope based on the ideas of this invention. Therefore, the content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation of this invention.

Claims

1. The application of adding traditional Chinese herbal extracts to a pet nutritional supplement, characterized in that: The herbal extract is an intestinal herbal extract, used in the preparation of nutritional supplements for improving the intestinal flora of pets and increasing the relative abundance of lactobacilli in the intestines. The intestinal herbal extract is obtained by water extraction or alcohol extraction of at least three of the following raw materials: Poria cocos, Dioscorea opposita, Populus tomentosa, Atractylodes macrocephala, and Pogostemon cablin.

2. The application of adding traditional Chinese herbal extracts to the pet nutritional supplement according to claim 1, characterized in that: The weight ratio of the raw materials is Poria cocos: Dioscorea opposita: Populus tomentosa: Atractylodes macrocephala: Pogostemon cablin = (15-25):(15-25):(25-35):(10-20):(10-20).

3. The application of adding traditional Chinese herbal extracts to the pet nutritional supplement according to claim 1, characterized in that: The nutritional supplement did not significantly increase the relative abundance of Bifidobacteria in the gut; that is, there was no statistically significant difference in the relative quantification of Bifidobacteria compared with the normal control (p>0.05).

4. The application of adding traditional Chinese herbal extracts to the pet nutritional supplement according to claim 1, characterized in that: The effective dosage of the intestinal herbal extract is as follows: based on the original extract, it is 0.2–0.8 mL / kg / d for mice, with an optimal dosage of 0.4 mL / kg / d; based on body surface area, it is 0.1–0.4 mL / kg / d for dogs and 0.08–0.3 mL / kg / d for cats.

5. The application of adding traditional Chinese herbal extracts to the pet nutritional supplement according to claim 1, characterized in that: The nutritional supplement is an oral preparation, and the dosage form is selected from powder, tablets, capsules, paste, liquid dosage form, or as an additive to pet staple food.

6. The application of adding traditional Chinese herbal extracts to the pet nutritional supplement according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pet is selected from dogs or cats.

7. The application of adding traditional Chinese herbal extracts to the pet nutritional supplement according to claim 6, characterized in that: The nutritional supplement contains a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient, wherein the carrier is selected from at least one of maltodextrin, microcrystalline cellulose, lactose, and starch.

8. The application of adding traditional Chinese herbal extracts to the pet nutritional supplement according to claim 7, characterized in that: The nutritional supplement is used in combination with probiotics to synergistically promote the proliferation of lactobacilli or prolong the colonization time of probiotics.

9. The application of adding traditional Chinese herbal extracts to the pet nutritional supplement according to claim 8, characterized in that: The nutritional supplement is intended to improve antibiotic-associated diarrhea, stress-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis, or promote intestinal recovery after illness.

Images