Enhancing immune responses to inactivated foot-and-mouth virus vaccine by a polysaccharide adjuvant of aqueous extracts from Artemisia rupestris L

Extraction methods, structural diversity and potential biological activities of Artemisia L. polysaccharides (APs): A review

The extraction and structural characterization of polysaccharides are challenging in plants with overlapping distributions such as Artemisia, the plant genus producing antimalarial drug artemisinin discovered by the Nobel Prize 2015 winning Professor Tu You-you. The diversity in Artemisia polysaccharides (APs) is due to difference in extraction methods leading to different bioactivities. In spite of that, APs utilization is decelerated due to lack of a review portraying current advancements. This review delivers data on extraction, structural characterization and bioactivities of APs with emphasis on mechanisms of action and structure-function relationships. Outcomes indicated that various polysaccharides in 16 Artemisia species were reported and comprehensively described. The common methods for preparing APs were hot water and microwave assisted extractions with maximum yield. Maximum plant parts used to extract APs include leaves, aerial part, whole plant and seeds. The APs presented varying molecular weight, monosaccharide composition, carbohydrates, proteins, uronic acids and phenolic content with around 20 bioactivities. Data on structure-function relationships indicated that the bioactivities of APs are highly correlated with the differences in Mw and monosaccharide's type. While Artemisia species discussed here are the most studied species for their polysaccharides, other Artemisia species may offer unique polysaccharides with distinct biological properties; hence, the future research could focus on expanding the scope of species studied. Broader investigations are also needed specifically on the structure-function relationships of APs with the elucidation of impact of unknown factors on their efficacy.

Application of plant-derived products as adjuvants for immune activation and vaccine development

Vaccines are one of the most important means to prevent and control the epidemic of infectious diseases. Commercial vaccines not only include corresponding antigens, but also need vaccine adjuvants. Immune adjuvants play an increasingly important role in the research, development and manufacture of vaccines. Adjuvants combined with antigens can improve the stability, safety and immune efficiency of vaccines. Some substances that can enhance the immune response have been found in nature(mainly plants) and used as adjuvants in vaccines to improve the immune effect of vaccines. These plant-derived immune adjuvants often have the advantages of low toxicity, high stability, low price, etc., providing more possibilities for vaccine development. We summarized and analyzed the advantages, application research, particulate delivery systems, existing problems and future research focus of botanical adjuvant. It is hoped to provide new ideas for the research and development of immune adjuvants in the future.

Virulence and Immune Evasion Strategies of FMDV: Implications for Vaccine Design

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is globally recognized as a highly economically devastating and prioritized viral disease affecting livestock. Vaccination remains a crucial preventive measure against FMD. The improvement of current vaccine platforms could help control outbreaks, leading to the potential eradication of the disease. In this review, we describe the variances in virulence and immune responses among FMD-susceptible host species, specifically bovines and pigs, highlighting the details of host-pathogen interactions and their impact on the severity of the disease. This knowledge serves as an important foundation for translating our insights into the rational design of vaccines and countermeasure strategies, including the use of interferon as a biotherapeutic agent. Ultimately, in this review, we aim to bridge the gap between our understanding of FMDV biology and the practical approaches to control and potentially eradicate FMD.

Effects of different addition levels of CHM-JM113 on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, organ index, and intestinal health of AA broilers

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of different levels of a Chinese herbal medicine formulation combined with JM113 (CHM-JM113) on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, organ index, and intestinal health of AA broilers. The AA broiler chicks were randomly allocated to 5 treatments as follows: a basic diet for the control group, the basic diet supplemented with 0.25% CHM-JM113, 0.5% CHM-JM113, 1% CHM-JM113 and 2% CHM-JM113 for the treatment group, respectively. The results showed that the addition of CHM-JM113 to the diet significantly reduced the mortality (p < 0.01) and improved the European Broiler Index (EBI) (p < 0.05), whereas it had no significance on growth performance of AA broilers (p > 0.05). Comparing the control group, 0.5 and 1% CHM-JM113 group significantly improved the organ index of liver, spleen and bursa (p < 0.05). In terms of intestinal morphology and structure, the addition of different levels of CHM-JM113 increased VH and VH/CD ratio, decreased CD in the small intestine compared to the control group, with 1 and 2% of the additive dose being more effective (p < 0.05). Chinese herbal medicine and probiotics as natural antioxidants also significantly increased the content of SOD in serum of 21-day-old broilers (p < 0.01), and significantly decreased the content of MDA in serum (p < 0.01). At 42 days of age, the addition of 1 and 2% CHM-JM113 significantly increased the content of SOD (p < 0.01) and significantly decreased the content of MDA in the organism (p < 0.01), accompanied by a significant increase in T-AOC and CAT content. In the study of the effect of CHM-JM113 on intestinal immunity, compared with the control group, we found that 1% or 2% CHM-JM113 had a better effect on the expression of occludin and claudin-1 in the intestinal segments of broilers (p < 0.05). For the expression of GATA-3, 0.5% CHM-JM113 may have a better effect (p < 0.05). CHM-JM113 may be used as an antibiotic alternative in broiler production.

Development of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccines in Recent Years

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a serious disease affecting the global graziery industry. Once an epidemic occurs, it can lead to economic and trade stagnation. In recent decades, FMD has been effectively controlled and even successfully eradicated in some countries or regions through mandatory vaccination with inactivated foot-and-mouth disease vaccines. Nevertheless, FMD still occurs in some parts of Africa and Asia. The transmission efficiency of foot-and-mouth disease is high. Both disease countries and disease-free countries should always be prepared to deal with outbreaks of FMD. The development of vaccines has played a key role in this regard. This paper summarizes the development of several promising vaccines including progress and design ideas. It also provides ways to develop a new generation of vaccines for FMDV and other major diseases.

The chemistry and efficacy benefits of polysaccharides from Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz

Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz (AM), traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with many medicinal values, has a long usage history in China and other oriental countries. The phytochemical investigation revealed the presence of volatile oils, polysaccharides, lactones, flavonoids, and others. The polysaccharides from AM are important medicinal components, mainly composed of glucose (Glc), galactose (Gal), rhamnose (Rha), arabinose (Ara), mannose (Man), galacturonic acid (GalA) and xylose (Xyl). It also showed valuable bioactivities, such as immunomodulatory, antitumour, gastroprotective and intestinal health-promoting, hepatoprotective, hypoglycaemic as well as other activities. At the same time, based on its special structure and pharmacological activity, it can also be used as immune adjuvant, natural plant supplement and vaccine adjuvant. The aim of this review is to summarize and critically analyze up-to-data on the chemical compositions, biological activities and applications of polysaccharide from AM based on scientific literatures in recent years.