This study examined the effect of fermentation on the ability of antler to act as a stimulator of hematopoietic activity. Hemolytic anemia was induced by phenylhydrazine (PHZ) in female Sprague-Dawley rats. The vehicle or antler extract (nonfermented or fermented) mixed in drinking water was administered from Days 2 to 15 after PHZ injection. On Day 15, red blood cell counts in the fermented antler group (6.33×10⁶/μL) were significantly higher than those in the nonfermented antler group (5.90×10⁶/μL) (P<.05), and rats treated with fermented antler extract tended to have higher hemoglobin compared with rats treated with nonfermented antler extract, but not significantly. In addition, rats treated with fermented antler extract had slightly lower serum erythropoietin levels compared with nonfermented antler extract, which were not statistically different from serum erythropoietin levels of nonanemic rats. We conclude therefore that the hematopoietic activity of antler might be increased by the fermentation process.
