Abstract：50 ICR(Institute of Cancer Researcch, USA) rats (Mus musculus) with 18~22 g body weight were randomly divided into 5 groups(control, compound Chinese herbal medicine, Pulsatilla, Phellodendron and Pulsatilla ∶ Phellodendron (1∶1) group) to investigate the effects of Chinese herb additives on diarrhea inhibition and intestinal bacteria. Rats were given extract by intragastric administration according to 4 g crude drug/kg body weight at the same time everyday, the controls were given distilled water with the same dose. Each rat was given Escherichia coli bacteria according to 0.02 mL/g with 108 cfu /mL by intraperitoneal injection at the 10th day to establish the model of diarrhea, and observe the effect of extract to diarrhea. The dejecta was collected at the 13th day for DGGE analysis. Results showed that, the changes in body weight of the controls were the most obvious at the 10th day, diarrhea was the most serious and significantly different with the other groups(P<0.05); The diarrhea frequency of four treatment groups were reduced 51%, 26%, 33% and 35%, respectively compared with the control group. The diarrhea inhibition of compound Chinese herbal medicine group was significantly(P<0.05) higher than that of other treatments; The faecal DGGE profiles showed that, for compound Chinese herbal medicine group, the number of DGGE bands and diversity index of compound group were more than that of the other treatment groups with significant difference(P<0.05). In conclusion, Chinese herb medicine feed additives can significantly reduce diarrhea frequency, optimize the structure of intestinal microbial community in mice, and the best effects were showed in group of compound Chinese herbal medicine.
