Effect of mulberry leaf flavonoids on growth performance,meat quality,slaughter traits,and serum antioxidant indexes of mutton sheep

SU Xiaoyue; LÜ Zhuanping; WANG Yanping; LIU Yingyu

doi:10.13557/j.cnki.issn1002-2813.2025.02.005

Abstract：The experiment aimed to investigate the effects of mulberry leaf flavonoids on the growth performance,meat quality,slaughter traits,and antioxidant indexes of mutton sheep.A total of 96 healthy Du-Han hybrid fattening sheep with body weight(39.15±1.27)kg were evenly divided into four groups,with six replicates per group and four mutton sheep per replicate.The control group was fed a basal diet,while the experimental groups were supplemented with 200,400,and 600 mg/kg mulberry leaf flavonoids in the basal diet.The pre-test lasted for three days and the formal test lasted for 30 days.The results showed that compared with the control group,the addition of 400 and 600 mg/kg mulberry leaf flavonoids significantly increased the final weight and average daily weight gain of mutton sheep(P＜0.05),and significantly reduced the feed to weight ratio(P＜0.05).The addition of 400 and 600 mg/kg mulberry leaf flavonoids significantly improved the pH24 h value and water-holding capacity(P＜0.05),and significantly reduced drip loss(P＜0.05),the live weight,carcass weight,net meat weight and eye muscle area were significantly increased(P＜0.05).The addition of 200,400,and 600 mg/kg mulberry leaf flavonoids significantly increased the activities of glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px)and superoxide dismutase(SOD),and the total antioxidant capacity(T-AOC)(P＜0.05),and significantly reduced the content of malondialdehyde(MDA)(P＜0.05).The addition of 400 and 600 mg/kg mulberry leaf flavonoids significantly increased the activity of catalase(CAT)(P＜0.05).The study indicates that the addition of mulberry leaf flavonoids in the diet can improve the growth performance,meat quality,slaughter traits,and antioxidant index of mutton sheep.Considering the economic benefits of breeding,the recommended addition level of mulberry leaf flavonoids in mutton sheep breeding is 400 mg/kg.