Effects of the Chinese Herbal Formula Shen Qi Yi Mu Tang on the Cellular Immunity of Postpartum Dairy Cows

To investigate the effects of Shen Qi Yi Mu Tang (SQYMT), a Chinese herbal formula composed of Radix codonopsis, R. astragalus, R. angelicae sinensis, Rhizoma chuanxiong, Flos lonicerae Japonicae, Fructus forsythiae and Herba leonuri on the cellular immunity of postpartum dairy cows, 20 postpartum dairy cows were randomly divided into control and treatment groups. The cows in the treatment group were gavaged with the Chinese herbal medicine SQYMT on d 1, 2 and 3 after calving. Blood samples were collected on d 1, 5 and 15 after calving and the ANAE⁺ lymphocyte percentage, the transformation percentage of the lymphocytes, CD4⁺, CD8⁺ T lymphocyte subpopulation, lymphocyte apoptosis rate were analyzed. Except CD8⁺ which remained unaffected all the parameters increased on d 5 and 15. Conversely the lymphocyte role declined. It is concluded that SQYMT could improve immunity in post partum cows.