Effect of Ensiled Mulberry Leaves and Sun-Dried Mulberry Fruit Pomace on Finishing Steer Growth Performance, Blood Biochemical Parameters, and Carcass Characteristics

Abstract

Fifty-one Simmental crossbred steers (357.0±16.5 kg) were used to compare a standard total mix ration (TMR) with variants on animal performance, ruminal fermentation, blood biochemical parameters, and carcass characteristics. Corn grain and cotton seed meal were partially replaced by ensiled mulberry leaves (EML) or sun-dried mulberry fruit pomace (SMFP). Experimental diets had similar amounts of crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and metabolizable energy (ME). Animals were divided into three groups: control group (CONT), 8% EML group, and 6.3% SMFP group. Performance, including average daily weight gain (ADG), and dry matter intake (DMI), was measured. Blood and rumen samples were collected at the end of the experiment (16 weeks). There were no differences in final body weight (P = 0.743), ADG (P = 0.425), DMI (P = 0.642), or ADG/DMI (P = 0.236) between the groups. There were no differences (P = 0.2024) in rumen pH values; ammonia N was lower (P = 0.0076) in SMFP than in the EML and CONT groups. There were differences in the concentrations of total and individual volatile fatty acids, while no differences were determined in blood biochemical parameters (i.e., plasma glucose, urea concentrations, triglycerides, total protein, insulin, IgG, alanine transaminase, and aspartate aminotransferase, P ≥ 0.098). No differences were observed in carcass characteristics (P ≥ 0.513), tenderness (P = 0.844), adipose and lean color values (P ≥ 0.149), and chemical composition (P ≥ 0.400); however, intramuscular fat was lower in the EML and SMFP groups compared to the CONT animals (P = 0.034). In conclusion, diets supplemented with these two mulberry products in an isocaloric and isonitrogenous manner have similar effects to corn grain and cotton seed meals on steer performance, blood biochemical parameters and carcass characteristics, with the exception of ruminal VFA concentrations and lower intramuscular fat content.

Effects of free ferulic acid on productive performance, blood metabolites, and carcass characteristics of feedlot finishing ewe lambs

“…It is possible that effects of this Figure 2. Similarly, other studies found no improvements in carcass characteristics, noncarcass components, or wholesale yield by addition of whole plants or plant extracts with antioxidant properties to feedlot diets of sheep (Tavasoli et al, 2009;Omer et al, 2013), male goats (Karami et al, 2010), or steers (Zhou et al, 2014). No significant FA × days on feed interaction or FA main effect (P ≥ 0.20) were observed for blood serum total protein and urea.…”

Biomass yield and nutrient content of a tropical mulberry forage bank: effects of season, harvest frequency and fertilization rate

“…() (25·9%) and higher than those published by Zhou et al . () (14·1%). Ether extract content (3·5 and 2·1% in leaves and TST respectively) was higher than the value reported by Hurtado et al .…”

“…agroforestry or agrosilvopastoral systems). Traditionally developed in the silkworm production industry (Katsumata, ; Tikader and Kamble, ; Zhou et al ., ), the nutritional quality of mulberry forage has been substantially improved for these purposes over time, resulting in high digestibility forage with higher crude protein and energy, and lower cell wall contents. Its nutritional traits have led to its use in unconventional feeding systems for ruminants (Benavides, ) and for non‐ruminant species such as swine (Contino et al ., ; Ly and Samkol, ), poultry (Machii, ; Riyadh et al ., ) or rabbits (Deshmukh et al ., ; López et al ., , ).…”

Dietary mulberry leaf powder affects growth performance, carcass traits and meat quality in finishing pigs

“…The biomass yield of fresh mulberry leaves is approximately 25–30 tons/ha/year. Extracts or constituents of mulberry leaves have been reported to possess anti‐inflammatory, antioxidant (Zhang et al, ), antiobesity, antidiabetic, hypolipidemic and neuroprotective properties (Chen et al, ; Zhou, Zhou, Ren, & Meng, ). Mulberry leaves are succulent and characterized by high crude protein (CP; 19.4%) and low neutral detergent fibre (NDF; 36.1%) (Sahoo, Singh, & Sharma, ), meaning they represent a potential feed source for herbivores and monogastric animals.…”