Effects of Chinese herbal compound preparations on growth performance and meat quality in mutton sheep

WANG Jianfei; WANG Yunfei; CHEN Qiuju; XU Fuxun; CHU Zhenfang; YANG Dong; CHAO Lumeng; TUO Jun

doi:10.13557/j.cnki.issn1002-2813.2025.21.002

Abstract：This experiment aimed to investigate the effects of different Chinese herbal compound preparations on the growth performance and meat quality of mutton sheep.A total of 48 aged three-month local Han crossbred male lambs in good body condition,and with a body weight of(19.43±1.83)kg were selected and randomly divided into four groups,with three replicates per group and four lambs per replicate.The control group was fed a basal diet,while the experimental groups received the basal diet supplemented with 1％Chinese herbal compound preparation A(experiment group 1),3％Chinese herbal compound preparation A(experiment group 2),and 1％Chinese herbal compound preparation B(experiment group 3),respectively.The pre-test period was 15 days,and the formal test period was 125 days.The results showed that compared with the control group,the average daily gain(ADG)in experiment group 2 was significantly increased during the 1 to 59 days(P＜0.05),and the feed-to-gain ratio(F/G)was significantly reduced(P＜0.05).Compared with the control group,the shear force of mutton in experiment group 2 was extremely decreased(P＜0.01),while the cooking loss and centrifugal loss were significantly reduced(P＜0.05),and meat color brightness was significantly improved(P＜0.05).The amino acid and fatty acid concentrations in the experiment group 2 of mutton were significantly higher than those in the control group.The study indicates that dietary supplementation with 3％Chinese herbal compound preparation A can effectively promote the growth of mutton sheep and improve the meat quality.