中国农业科学 ›› 2026, Vol. 59 ›› Issue (14): 3203-3219.doi: 10.3864/j.issn.0578-1752.2026.14.015

• 畜牧·兽医 • 上一篇    下一篇

微生物发酵中草药的研究现状及其在畜禽饲养中的应用

张朝生(), 陈志敏(), 李淑珍, 王少龙, 刘国华   

  1. 中国农业科学院饲料研究所/农业农村部生物饲料重点实验室, 北京 100081
  • 收稿日期:2025-10-27 接受日期:2026-06-12 出版日期:2026-07-16 发布日期:2026-07-21
  • 通信作者:
    陈志敏,E-mail:
  • 联系方式: 张朝生,Tel:13363004837;E-mail:1379048998@qq.com。
  • 基金资助:
    国家重点研发计划(2023YFD1301601)

Research Status of Microbial Fermentation of Chinese Herbal Medicines and Discussion on Its Application in Livestock and Poultry Breeding

ZHANG ChaoSheng(), CHEN ZhiMin(), LI ShuZhen, WANG ShaoLong, LIU GuoHua   

  1. Key Laboratory for Feed Biotechnology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/Institute of Feed Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081
  • Received:2025-10-27 Accepted:2026-06-12 Published:2026-07-16 Online:2026-07-21

摘要:

随着全球畜牧业禁抗限抗政策的实施,探索安全、高效的抗生素替代品已成为饲料行业的研究热点。中国《饲料原料目录》收录药食同源类天然植物达117种,为开发中草药饲料添加剂奠定了信息资源基础。中草药虽具有抗菌、免疫调节及促生长潜力,但在实际应用中长期受限于成分溶出难、糖苷类活性成分生物利用度低,以及部分药材存在内源性毒性且机制不明等三大核心瓶颈。微生物发酵技术将传统的炮制工艺与现代生物技术结合,通过微生物酶系的生物降解、生物转化及菌-药协同作用,为解决上述难题提供创新路径,文章系统阐述了微生物发酵中草药的最新研究进展。首先,对比分析了液体发酵与固体发酵2种主流工艺的特点:液体发酵虽利于过程控制与规模化,但成本较高;固体发酵成本低廉且适合饲料工业,但产品质量稳定性有待提升。其次,深入阐释了微生物发酵技术的四大核心优势与作用机制:一是通过微生物酶促修饰产生原药材不具备的新活性物质,拓展药效物质基础;二是通过物理破壁与生化转化双重机制,显著提高活性成分含量与生物利用度;三是通过定向降解毒性成分(如将双酯型生物碱转化为单酯型),消除安全隐患;四是通过改善理化性状与风味,提升产品稳定性与适口性。此外,文章聚焦于饲料工业的实际应用需求,归纳了目前产业化潜力最大的几类中草药基底:包括以黄芪、党参为代表的促生长类;以甘草、女贞子为代表的免疫调节类;以及以金银花、穿心莲为代表的肠道健康类,明确了不同应用场景下的优选草药方案。在此基础上,文章总结了微生物发酵中草药在畜禽生产中的实证效果,包括通过优化肠道微生态、增强屏障功能及提高养分利用率来促进生长性能;通过调控肌肉代谢与抗氧化能力来改善肉品质;以及通过激活Nrf2等信号通路缓解氧化应激,降低疾病易感性。最后,针对当前产业化面临的挑战,展望了未来的研究方向:利用多组学技术精准挖掘专属功能菌株,建立发酵过程的精细化与标准化控制体系,深入解析“菌-肠-免疫”轴的作用机制,并完善毒理学安全评价体系与产品质量标准,以推动发酵中草药从实验室走向工业化应用,助力畜牧业绿色发展。

关键词: 微生物发酵, 中草药, 机制, 畜禽生产, 生物转化

Abstract:

With the implementation of global policies to ban and limit the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry, exploring safe and efficient alternatives to antibiotics has become a research hotspot in the feed industry. The "Feed Raw Materials Catalogue" of China includes 117 kinds of natural plants that are both edible and medicinal, laying a resource foundation for the development of Chinese herbal feed additives. Although Chinese herbal medicines have the potential for antibacterial, immunomodulatory and growth-promoting properties, they have long been limited by three core bottlenecks in practical application: difficult dissolution of components, low bioavailability of glycoside active ingredients, and the existence of endogenous toxicity in some medicinal materials with unclear mechanisms. Microbial fermentation technology combines traditional processing techniques with modern biotechnology, which provides an innovative path to solve the above-mentioned problems through the biodegradation, biotransformation of microbial enzyme systems and the synergistic action of bacteria and drugs. This article systematically expounded the latest research progress of microbial fermentation of Chinese herbal medicines. Firstly, the characteristics of the two mainstream processes, including liquid fermentation and solid fermentation, were compared and analyzed: although liquid fermentation was conducive to process control and scale, its cost was relatively high; solid fermentation was cost-effective and suitable for the feed industry, but the stability of product quality needed to be improved. Secondly, it elaborated in depth on the four core advantages and mechanism of action of microbial fermentation technology: first, it generated new active substances that the original medicinal materials did not possess through enzymatic modification by microorganisms, expanding the material basis of medicinal effects; second, through the dual mechanisms of physical cell wall breaking and biochemical transformation, the content of active ingredients and bioavailability were significantly increased; thirdly, the safety hazards were eliminated by specifically degrading toxic components (such as converting diester alkaloids into monoester ones); fourthly, by improving physical and chemical properties and flavor, the stability and palatability of the product could be enhanced. Furthermore, focusing on the practical demands of the feed industry, this paper categorized and recommended specific herbal substrates with high industrial potential: growth-promoting herbs (e.g., Astragalusand, Codonopsis), immunomodulatory herbs (e.g., Glycyrrhizaand, Ligustrum), and gut health-maintaining herbs (e.g., Loniceraand, Andrographis), providing a clear guideline for feed formulation. Based on this, this article summarized the empirical effects of microbial fermentation of Chinese herbal medicine in livestock and poultry production, including promoting growth performance by optimizing the intestinal microecology, enhancing barrier function and improving nutrient utilization rate, and improving meat quality by regulating muscle metabolism and antioxidant capacity; it alleviated oxidative stress and reduced disease susceptibility by activating signaling pathways, such as Nrf2. Finally, in response to the current challenges in industrialization, this article looked forward to future research directions: the need to use multi-omics technologies to precisely identify exclusive functional strains, establish a refined and standardized control system for the fermentation process, deeply analyze the mechanism of the "microbe-organism-immune" axis, and improve the toxicological safety evaluation system and product quality standards, in order to promote the transition of fermented Chinese herbs from the laboratory to industrial application, and contribute to the green development of the livestock industry.

Key words: microbial fermentation, Chinese herbal medicines, mechanism, livestock and poultry production, biological transformation