Lambs eating mushroom heads rich in polysaccharides helps boost immunity, research by the Livestock Research Institute
The Livestock Research Institute of the Council of Agriculture (hereinafter referred to as the "Livestock Research Institute") stated that banning antibiotics in feed has become a global trend. In a recent study, the Livestock Research Institute added discarded mushroom bases to feed. Mushrooms are rich in plant polysaccharides and cellulose, which can help lambs grow, improve diarrhea and strengthen immunity, while also allowing agricultural waste to be recycled.
Discarded mushroom bases are rich in polysaccharides, keeping lambs healthy when eaten
Associate Research Fellow Shih Po-ling stated that lambs are prone to stress at weaning, when they shift from drinking milk to eating grass and feed. Their digestive enzymes have not yet adapted, so diarrhea easily occurs. In the past, antibiotics were used for treatment. Now the Livestock Research Institute is trying mushroom bases cut from enoki mushrooms (Flammulina filiformis) or king oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus eryngii). After removing moisture and grinding them, they are added to feed, which can relieve diarrhea symptoms and help keep lambs healthy.
The Livestock Research Institute separately compared treatment groups with added enoki mushroom bases or king oyster mushroom bases against a control group. For indicators of antioxidant capacity such as total phenolic compounds, reducing power and DPPH scavenging rate, the treatment groups containing mushroom by-products were all higher, showing that mushrooms have high antioxidant properties. In addition, the treatment group with the two kinds of mushroom base by-products added showed a clear 18% increase in weight gain in lambs compared with the control group, and the diarrhea index also decreased significantly.
Associate Research Fellow Shih Po-ling stated that discarded mushroom bases have high moisture, so operators who want to use them need to dry or sun-dry them first to avoid mold, then grind them and add them to feed. In addition, besides lambs, cattle can also eat them. Next year the Livestock Research Institute will study the use of mushroom bases in poultry farming.
The Livestock Research Institute stated that under the global trend of rising raw material and feed prices, recycling agricultural waste resources can replace part of imported feed ingredients and hay, and can also simultaneously reduce the cost of livestock production and agricultural by-product waste treatment, while also reducing antibiotic use in the livestock industry.