Sophora alopecuroides supplementation improves growth performance of Simmental cattle by enhancing feed utilization and regulating rumen bacteria community

作者：Yueting Pan, Kaili Xie, Chunmei Wang, Shanning Lou, Cheng Zhang, Fujiang Hou · 发表于：Animal nutrition · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.aninu.2025.05.007 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Moringa oleifera research and applications、Bioactive natural compounds、Rabbits: Nutrition, Reproduction, Health

: This study examined the impacts of Sophora alopecuroides supplementation on growth performance, nitrogen (N) and energy utilization, methane (CH 4 ) emissions, serum indices, rumen fermentation, and bacterial community in Simmental cattle. Twenty-four 6-month-old male Simmental cattle (170 ± 1.07 kg) were randomly assigned to 4 treatments: control (basal diet, 0 mg/kg group) and basal diet with 150, 300, or 450 mg/kg body weight (BW) of S. alopecuroides supplementation. The 74-day trial included a 14-day adaptation and a 60-day experimental phase. Results showed that S. alopecuroides supplementation quadratically increased dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG) and final BW ( P < 0.05), while reducing feed conversion ratio (FCR) ( P = 0.001). S. alopecuroides supplementation also quadratically increased the apparent digestibility of DM, organic matter (OM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) ( P < 0.05). Additionally, supplementation at 300 mg/kg reduced urinary N excretion and improved retained N, compared to the 0 mg/kg group ( P < 0.05). S. alopecuroides supplementation quadratically enhanced gross energy intake (GEI) and energy balance (EB) ( P < 0.05), while tended to quadratically increase digestible energy intake (DEI, P = 0.064), and metabolic energy intake (MEI, P = 0.087). Furthermore, the content of serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were quadratically enhanced by S. alopecuroides supplementat...