ABSTRACT This study has the objective of investigating the effects of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions (TCM) on serum lipid, abdominal and hepatic fat percentage, cholesterol content in eggs, and mRNA expression of genes apoA I and apoB100. One hundred and thirty five healthy (300-day-old) layers were randomly assigned to three treatments. The hens in control group were fed with the basal diet. The hens in the experimental groups (TCM 1 and TCM 2) were fed with the basal diet supplemented with 1% TCM 1 and 1% TCM 2 respectively over a period of 60 days. Laying performance and the serum parameters relevant to fat metabolism were measured. The results showed that no significant differences were found in average daily feed intake and egg weight among three treatments. Average daily laying rate in TCM treatments was increased, and the cholesterol content in eggs was decreased. The serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in experimental treatments were decreased (p<0.05), while the serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level was increased (p<0.05) compared to the control group. Additionally, abdominal fat percentage decreased in TCM 1 treatment (p<0.05), and hepatic fat percentage decreased in both TCM treatments (p<0.05). The expression of apolipoproteinA I (apoA I) and apolipoproteinB100 (apoB100) mRNA in the liver increased in both TCM treatments (p<0.05). These results suggest that the diet supplemented with TCM could increase the expression of apoA I and apoB100 mRNA in the liver, and decrease lipid content in the serum, and reduce egg cholesterol in layers.

Conyza canadensis é uma espécie de planta daninha comum que forma populações densas na maioria das regiões da China. Foram realizados bioensaios em placas de Petri com extratos aquosos das partes visíveis e das raízes de C. canadensis em três concentrações (0,05, 0,1 e 0,2 g mL-1), a fim de investigar os efeitos autotóxicos dessa espécie, bem como os possíveis efeitos em três espécies nativas dominantes: Plantago asiatica, Digitaria sanguinalis e Youngia japonica. Os resultados mostraram que a germinação de sementes e o crescimento de rebentos das três espécies nativas eram inibidos significativamente pelos extratos aquosos de C. canadensis em quase todas as concentrações, que aumentaram geralmente com uma concentração cada vez maior de extratos. Contudo, a germinação de sementes e o crescimento de rebentos da própria C. canadensis não foram alterados significativamente pelos mesmos extratos em todas as concentrações. Esses resultados sugerem que os potenciais compostos alelopáticos produzidos pelo tecido de C. canadensis podem contribuir para o seu sucesso invasivo no sul da China.

Conyza canadensis is a widespread weed species forming dense populations in most regions of China. Petri dish bioassays with aqueous extracts of the aboveground parts and roots of C. canadensis at three concentrations (0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 g mL-1) were undertaken to investigate the autotoxic effects of C. canadensis, and the possible effects on three dominant native weed species, Plantago asiatica, Digitaria sanguinalis and Youngia japonica. The results showed that seed germination and the shoot length of three native species were significantly inhibited by aqueous extracts of C. canadensis at almost all concentrations that generally increased with increasing extract concentration. However, the seed germination and shoot length of C. canadensis itself was not significantly affected by the same extracts at all concentrations. These results suggested that the potential allelopathic compounds produced by the tissue of C. canadensis may contribute to its invasive success in invading southern China.