5.4.1. Epimedium grandiflorum C. Morren

E. grandiflorum (bishop's hat) is a plant used in the Chinese traditional medicine and the polysaccharide fraction of which represents the main biologically active component (Liang et al., 2012). In 2016 Li and coworkers synthesized a library of 9 Se-Ps samples from polysaccharides extracted from roots of this species getting yields in the range 19.5%–36.5% and Se contents of 2.65 mg /g - 21.89 mg /g. Subsequently, the immune-enhancing capacities, expressed as the extent of chicken peripheral lymphocytes proliferation, were measured using doses from 0.098 μg/mL to 1.563 μg/mL (Li et al., 2016). The Se-P having a Se content of 7.2 mg /g displayed the best activity, leading to the highest degree of proliferation (25.5%) and was then selected to perform further tests. The same pattern was recorded in in vivo assays using ND vaccinated 1-day old White Roman male chickens fed with the Se-P dissolved in water for 28 days. The best increase of proliferation rate was observed after 2 weeks of treatment (50.1%).