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Objective The study was conducted to investigate the effects of Broussonetia papyrifera L. (B. papyrifera) silage on growth performance, serum biochemical parameters, meat quality, and meat amino acids and fatty acids compositions in beef cattle. Methods Sixty-four male Angus beef cattle were assigned to 4 groups with 4 pens in each group and 4 beef cattle in each pen, and fed with the total mixed ration supplemented with 0%, 5%, 10%, or 15% B. papyrifera silage for 100 days (control group, 5% group, 10% group and 15% group) separately. Results Beef cattle had significantly higher final body weight (BW) in 15% group, higher average daily gain (ADG) and dry matter intake (DMI) in 5% group, 10% group and 15% group, and higher feed conversion ratio (FCR) in 10% group and 15% group. Significantly higher blood superoxide dismutase (SOD) concentration was noted in 15% group, higher blood total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in 10% group and 15% group, lower 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in 15% group. Meat had lower pH in 15% group, higher Commission International DeI’Eclairage (CIE) L* in 5% group, 10% group, and 15% group, and lower drip loss in 15% group. Greater concentration of meat polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) was observed in 10% group and 15% group, and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in 15% group. Conclusion Diet with 15% B. papyrifera silage could improve performance and increase final BW, ADG, DMI, and FCR, enhance the antioxidant functions by decreasing blood 8-OHdG and MDA and increasing blood SOD and TAC, improve the meat quality by lowing pH and drip loss and increasing CIE L*, increase the meat PUFA and DHA concentration. Polyphenols and flavonoids might be the main components responsible for the antioxidant activity and anti-biohydrogenation in the B. papyrifera silage. And B. papyrifera silage could be used as a new feedstuff in beef cattle nutrition.

A total of 144 cross-bred (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire) finishing pigs with a similar initial weight (65.4 ± 1.03 kg) were used to investigate the effect of moringa leaf meal on growth performance, meat quality, fatty acid composition, and amino acid profile. The moringa leaf meal-inclusion rates were 0% (M0 or control), 3% (M3), 6% (M6) and 9% (M9). The results showed that supplementing moringa leaf meal significantly increased the daily weight gain of finishing pigs, but had a minor impact on pork quality indicators and the amino acid profile in the Longissimus dorsi. The fatty acid profile in the Longissimus dorsi was significantly modified when pigs were fed moringa leaf meal diets. The relative percentage of total unsaturated fatty acid and monounsaturated fatty acid was higher in the meat of pigs fed a 6% moringa leaf meal diet than in the meat of those receiving the control diet. In contrast, the percentage of total saturated fatty acids was lower in the meat of pigs fed the moringa leaf meal diets. Moreover, the omega-6/omega-3 ratio decreased with moringa leaf meal supplementation. Addition of the moringa supplement into the diet of pigs improved growth performance and modified pork fatty acid profile positively. The results suggest that moringa leaf meal could be used as a diet supplement for producing healthier pork.

Objective This study was carried out to investigate the possible application of Broussonetia papyrifera (B. papyrifera) silage as a functional feeding stuff in dairy cattle. Methods Seventy-two Holstein cows were divided into four groups randomly and allocated to 6 pens with 3 individuals in each group and fed the original total mixed ratio (TMR) in the dairy farm or the new TMR with 5%, 10%, and 15% B. papyrifera silage, separately. Feed intake were recorded, milk and blood samples were collected, and milk composition, blood metabolites and milk fatty acids composition were measure at the end of the experiment. Results Dry matter intake of cows decreased when they fed on diet with B. papyrifera, but no differences were observed in body condition score, milk yield, milk protein and lactose, feed efficiency and serum metabolites between groups. Both 10% or 15% of B. papyrifera silage in the diet significantly increased the immunoglobulin A (IgA) and IgG in serum, 15% of B. papyrifera silage increased the content of serum catalase, superoxide dismutase, total antioxidant capacity, and decreased the content of 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine. Furthermore, 10% or 15% of B. papyrifera silage resulted in a significant decrease in the milk somatic cell count, and increased the polyunsaturated fatty acids content in the milk. Conclusion The diets with 10% to 15% of B. papyrifera silage might enhance the immune and antioxidant function of dairy cows and increase the polyunstaturated fatty acid concentration in the milk.

Abstract Background Dorper is an important breed for meat purpose and widely used in the livestock industry of the world. However, the protein requirement of Dorper crossbred has not been investigated. The current paper reports the net protein (NP) and metabolizable protein (MP) requirements of Dorper crossbred ram lambs from 20 to 35 kg BW. Methods Thirty-five Dorper × thin-tailed Han crossbred lambs weaned at approximately 50 d of age (20.3 ± 2.15 kg of BW) were used. Seven lambs of 25 kg BW were slaughtered as the baseline animals at the start of the trial. An intermediate group of seven randomly selected lambs fed ad libitum was slaughtered at 28.6 kg BW. The remaining 21 lambs were randomly divided into three levels of dry matter intake: ad libitum or 70% or 40% of ad libitum intake. Those lambs were slaughtered when the lambs fed ad libitum reached 35 kg BW. Total body N and N retention were measured. Results The daily NP and MP requirements for maintenance were 1.89 and 4.52 g/kg metabolic shrunk BW (SBW0.75). The partial efficiency of MP utilization for maintenance was 0.42. The NP requirement for growth ranged from 12.1 to 43.5 g/d, for the lambs gaining 100 to 350 g/d, and the partial efficiency of MP utilization for growth was 0.86. Conclusions The NP and MP requirements for the maintenance and growth of Dorper crossbred male lambs were lower than the recommendations of American and British nutritional systems.

This study investigated the effects of protein sources for milk replacers on growth performance and serum biochemical indexes of suckling calves. Fifty Chinese Holstein bull calves with similar BW and age were randomly allocated to 5 groups (1 control and 4 treatments) of 10 calves in each group. Five types of milk replacers were designed to have the same level of energy and protein. The protein source for milk replacers of the control group was full milk protein (MP). The protein source of milk replacers of the 4 treatment groups was composed of MP and one vegetable protein (VP) (30 and 70% of total protein). The 4 types of VP were soybean protein concentrate (SP), hydrolyzed wheat protein (WP), peanut protein concentrate (PP), and rice protein isolate (RP). Results of the experiment showed: 1) there was no significant difference on average daily gain (ADG) and feed:gain ratio (F:G) among the MP, SP and RP groups (P > 0.05), whereas the ADG and F:G of the WP and PP groups were significantly lower compared with the MP group (P 0.05). Thereby the 4 VP milk replacers had no adverse effects on body size of calves; 3) all groups showed no significant difference in the serum contents of urea nitrogen, total protein, albumin, globulin, β-hydroxybutyrate, growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor-1, and the ratio of albumin to globulin (A:G) (P > 0.05). In conclusion, SP or RP (accounts for 70% of the total protein) as calf milk replacers could substitute MP, whereas wheat gluten and PP had a significant adverse effect on growth performance in this experiment.

Although flavonoids or yeast have been used as feed additives to improve the production efficiency and health of adult cattle, little information is available on their effects on rumen fermentation in calves. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of feed supplementation with mulberry leaf flavonoids and Candida tropicalis on performance, blood parameters, and rumen fermentation characteristics during pre-weaning and post-weaning periods. Forty-eight Holstein calves were used in a four-groups trial and were supplemented with (1) no yeast or flavonoids (CON), (2) active dry yeast (ADY; C. tropicalis, 5.0 × 109 CFU/d), (3) flavonoids (FLA; 3 g/d), or (4) yeast and flavonoids (YF; C. tropicalis, 5.0 × 109 CFU/d; flavonoids, 3 g/d). The feeding strategy was as follows: milk replacer was offered at 12% of body weight in two meals per calf each day at age 21 d, and a gradual weaning process was adopted at age 50 to 56 days. Data of daily feed intake, body weight, and serum and rumen fermentation parameters were obtained at 28, 42, 56, and 80 d ages, respectively. A significant time effect and interaction between treatment and time was found for average daily gain, feed efficiency, total volatile fatty acid concentration, and proportion of propionate in calves (p < 0.05). Average daily gain and feed efficiency increased during post-weaning and overall periods for calves in FLA and YF groups compared with CON and ADY groups (p < 0.05). A reduction of fecal scores with supplementation was found in FLA and YF groups (p < 0.05). Rumen fluid pH and ammonia nitrogen concentration remained constant across the groups, whereas total volatile fatty acid concentration and molar proportion of propionate significantly increased during the pre-weaning and overall periods in FLA and YF groups (p < 0.05). Calves in YF group had the highest serum concentrations of IgG and IgA during the overall period (p < 0.05). Additionally, serum β-hydroxybutyric acid concentration was higher in ADY and FLA groups during the post-weaning period (p < 0.05). Supplementation with C. tropicalis showed little effect on increasing growth performance and health compared with flavonoids alone. Meanwhile, the combination of C. tropicalis and flavonoids was not synergistic with respect to improving health and rumen fermentation compared with use of flavonoids alone in pre- and post-weaning calves (p > 0.05).

Two experiments were conducted using Dorper × thin-tailed Han crossbred ewes. In experiment 1, eighteen ewes were randomly assigned to two dietary treatments (a basal diet, or the same basal diet supplemented with 2.0 g tea saponin (TS)/head/day) to investigate the effects of TS supplementation on nutrient digestibility and methane emissions. In experiment 2, six ewes with ruminal cannulae were assigned to the same two dietary treatments as in experiment 1 to investigate the effects of TS supplementation on rumen fermentation and microbial flora. TS supplementation increased the apparent digestibility of organic matter (OM) (p = 0.001), nitrogen (N) (p = 0.036), neutral detergent fibre (NDF) (p = 0.001), and acid detergent fibre (ADF) (p < 0.001). Urinary N (p = 0.001) and fecal N (p = 0.036) output were reduced, and N retention (p = 0.001) and nitrogen retention/nitrogen intake (p = 0.001) were increased. Supplementary TS did not decrease absolute methane emissions (p = 0.519) but decreased methane emissions scaled to metabolic bodyweight by 8.80% (p = 0.006). Ammonia levels decreased (p < 0.001) and total volatile fatty acid levels increased (p = 0.018) in response to TS supplementation. The molar proportion of propionate increased (p = 0.007), whereas the acetate:propionate ratio decreased (p = 0.035). Supplementation with TS increased the population of Fibrobacter succinogenes (p = 0.019), but the population of protozoans tended to decrease (p = 0.054). Supplementation with TS effectively enhanced the apparent digestibility of OM, N, NDF, and ADF, and decreased methane emissions scaled to metabolic bodyweight.