[Objectives]This study aimed to investigate the effect of polysaccharides from Hedyotis diffusa on the immune cells of the intestinal mucosa of chicks.[Methods]Total 200 seven-day-old AA chicks were evenly and randomly divided into four groups:control group and three treatment groups.The chicks in the control group(group I)were fed basal diet,and those in the treatment groups were fed with basal diet supplemented with 0.4(group II),0.8(group III)and 1.2(group IV)g/kg H.diffusa polysaccharides(OPS),respectively.At the age of 14,28 and 42 d,10 chicks from each of the groups were sacrificed,respectively for counting of intraepithelial lymphocytes(IELs)and lamina propria secretory IgA(SIgA)positive cells in small intestinal mucosa.[Results]At the age of 14 d,the duodenal and jejunal IEL and SIgA positive cell counts in groups II,III and IV were significantly greater than those in group I(P0.05).At the age of 42 d,the duodenal and jejunal IEL counts in group II were significantly greater than those in groups I,III and IV(P0.05).The duodenal SIgA positive cell counts in the treatment groups were insignificantly different from that in group I(P>0.05).The jejunal SIgA positive cell count in group II was significantly greater than those in groups I,III and IV(P0.05).[Conclusions]OPS at 0.4 g/kg can promote the proliferation of immune cells in the small intestine mucosa of 14-42-day-old AA chicks,and it is recommended to be added to the feed.
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