A mini review of Yu-Ping-Feng polysaccharides: Their biological activities and potential applications in aquaculture

Polysaccharides, one of the important active ingredients of traditional Chinese herbal medicine, become a focus of attention in many fields, particularly in medical research industry. Yu-Ping-Feng (YPF) is a primary component of many traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions, and it’s proven to be significantly beneficial to human health. In recent years, polysaccharides from YPF have been well documented after successful isolation and purification, but the polysaccharides from YPF post-processing wastes are not studied. Under the guidance of the Pharmacological Efficacy Index, we have extracted Yu-Ping-Feng polysaccharides (YPF-P) from the wastes of YPF in our previous work. Our previous findings showed that YPF-P promote the growth, enhance immunity and organ structure or function of cultured fish northern snakehead fish (Channa argus) and grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus), and significantly improve the intestinal microflora of fish. This paper reviews the current status of YPF-P and their application in aquaculture, including the development of green feed for aquatic animals and the re-utilization of the YPF wastes. This series of work is a way to have the best of both worlds, not only to realize the rational treatment of medical wastes, but also to effectively use the wastes, to find a green raw material for aquatic feed