Figures (4)  Tables (5)

    • Figure 1. 

      (a) Tissue morphology of rumen epithelial papillae under optical microscope; (b) Peak coumarin in rumen fluid. (Peak coumarin at 4 min, COU: coumarin, Standard coumarin=13.7 µg/mL).

    • Figure 2. 

      (a) Effects of feeding M. albus on alpha diversity of Hu sheep. (b) Bray-Curtis NMDS results of feeding M. albus on rumen microbial diversity of Hu sheep.

    • Figure 3. 

      Microbial diversity analysis. (a) Relative abundance at the phylum level. (b) Relative abundance at the genus level. (c), (d) Relative abundance of differential bacterial genera analyzed by LEfSe.

    • Figure 4. 

      Heatmap of correlation between microbial genera and fermentation parameters. Note: Red represents positive correlation, blue represents negative correlation, * indicates p < 0.05, ** indicates p < 0.01.

    • Alfalfa M. albus
      Nutrient composition
      Corn 29.85 20.70
      Alfalfa 30.00 0
      M. albus 0 30.00
      Wheat straw 20.00 20.00
      Wheat bran 5.00 7.30
      Soybean meal 9.50 9.20
      Premix 2.00 2.00
      DCP 1.15 3.50
      Zeolite 0.50 2.69
      Salt 1.00 1.00
      CGM 0.00 2.61
      Baking soda 2.00 2.00
      Total 100 100
      Nutrient composition
      ME (MJ/kg) 8.53 8.59
      CP (%) 14.13 14.24
      NDF (%) 32.43 32.14
      ADF (%) 49.46 41.59
      Calcium (%) 1.19 2.53
      Phosphorus (%) 0.52 1.53
      * Each kg of premix contains vit. A; 150−600 KIU, vit. D2; 30−100 KIU, vit. E; 600 IU, Vit. B; 12,000 g, vit. B; 225 mg, vit. B 625 mg, vit. B 1,230 g, niacinamide 100 mg, Manganese 1.0−3.6 g, vit. B; 1,230 g. Zinc 1.0-3.6 g, copper 0.1−0.8 g, iron 3.0−18.0 g, Selenium 5.0−12.0 mg, cobalt 3.0−50.0 mg, iodine 1.0−250.0 mg, total phosphorus 1.0%−5.0%, calcium 3.0%−25.0%, sodium chloride 6.0%−30.0%. * DCP, dibasic calcium phosphate; CGM, corn gluten meal; ME, metabolic energy; CP, crude protein; NDF, neutral detergent fiber; ADF, acid detergent fiber.

      Table 1. 

      Dietary composition and nutrient composition (dry matter basis).

    • Item Group p value
      Alfalfa M. albus
      Initial body weight (kg) 27.70 ± 1.10 28.26 ± 1.08 0.719
      Final body weight (kg) 40.78 ± 0.75 38.59 ± 0.65 0.042
      Body weight gain (kg) 13.08 ± 0.45 10.33 ± 0.78 0.009
      ADWG (kg/d) 0.16 ± 0.02 0.13 ± 0.03 0.009
      DMI (kg) 1.12 ± 0.02 1.06 ± 0.02 0.044
      Total feed intake (kg) 104.48 ± 7.03 98.88 ± 4.36 0.039
      F/G 6.93 ± 0.27 8.59 ± 0.60 0.028
      Dry matter (%) 0.75 ± 0.03 0.73 ± 0.04 0.160
      Crude ash (%) 0.84 ± 0.04 0.81 ± 0.077 0.263
      Crude protein (%) 0.74 ± 0.02 0.70 ± 0.02 0.002
      NDF (%) 0.52 ± 0.04 0.41 ± 0.05 0.001
      ADF (%) 0.55 ± 0.03 0.41 ± 0.03 0.001
      ADWG = average daily weight gain, DMI = dry matter intake, F/G = DMI/ADWG, NDF = Neutral detergent fiber, ADF = Acid detergent fiber.

      Table 2. 

      Effects of feeding M. albus on the growth performance and apparent digestible energy of Hu sheep.

    • Item Groups
      Alfalfa M. albus
      Total gain (kg) 13.08 10.33
      Total feed intake (kg) 104 98
      Feed cost (RMB)* 416.00 310.66
      Gain price (RMB)** 654.00 516.50
      Net revenue*** 238.00 205.84
      Relative profit (%)**** 100 86.48
      * = Total feed intake × price (the price of 1 kg diet was 4.0 RMB / alfalfa, and 3.17 RMB / M. albus). ** = Total gain × 50 (1 kg 50 RMB). *** = Gain price – Feed cost. **** = Net revenue for treatment / Net revenue for control × 100, according to Kamal et al.[67].

      Table 3. 

      Input/output analysis and economic efficiency of experimental groups.

    • Item Group p value
      Alfalfa M. albus
      Final body weight (kg) 40.78 ± 0.75 38.59 ± 0.65 0.042
      Carcass weight (kg) 21.02 ± 0.46 18.62 ± 0.32 0.001
      Dressing percentage* (%) 42.05 ± 0.04 39.19 ± 0.02 0.029
      Liver proportion (%) 1.54 ± 0.03 1.38 ± 0.02 0.020
      Liver weight (kg) 0.63 ± 0.01 0.54 ± 0.01 0.001
      Jejunum proportion (%) 2.90 ± 0.23 3.25 ± 0.14 0.232
      Jejunum weight (kg) 1.19 ± 0.09 1.25 ± 0.06 0.602
      Colon proportion (%) 2.64 ± 0.13 2.88 ± 0.08 0.144
      Colon weight (kg) 1.09 ± 0.08 1.12 ± 0.05 0.763
      Rumen empty proportion (%) 0.73 ± 0.02 0.64 ± 0.01 0.003
      Rumen empty weight (kg) 1.78 ± 0.04 1.66 ± 0.01 0.065
      * Dressing percentage (%) = Carcass weight / Final body weight.

      Table 4. 

      Effects of feeding M. albus on slaughter performance of Hu sheep.

    • Item Group p value
      Alfalfa M. albus
      SFA (%) C10:0 0.26 ± 0.05 0.24 ± 0.05 0.319
      C12:0 0.30 ± 0.18 0.19 ± 0.04 0.090
      C13:0 2.34 ± 0.40 2.10 ± 0.23 0.119
      C14:0 4.68 ± 1.49 3.72 ± 1.06 0.113
      C16:0 21.74 ± 2.32 22.27 ± 3.35 0.683
      C18:0 23.34 ± 2.27 22.39 ± 2.74 0.410
      MUFA (%) C14:1 0.77 ± 0.19 0.82 ± 0.12 0.440
      C16:1 1.35 ± 0.49 1.67 ± 0.48 0.171
      C18:1 C9 35.93 ± 2.13 37.89 ± 1.30 0.023
      C20:1 0.31 ± 0.07 0.29 ± 0.09 0.585
      PUFA (%) C18:2 n-6 7.72 ± 0.72 7.82 ± 0.43 0.741
      C20:5 n-3 0.39 ± 0.02 0.39 ± 0.07 0.894
      C20:4 n-6 0.86 ± 0.01 0.22 ± 0.08 0.001
      SFA (%) 52.66 ± 2.23 50.90 ± 1.08 0.038
      UFA (%) 47.34 ± 2.23 49.10 ± 1.07 0.043
      MUFA (%) 38.36 ± 1.97 40.67 ± 1.60 0.004
      PUFA (%) 24.08 ± 0.69 24.97 ± 0.73 0.142
      SFA = saturated fatty acids, UFA = Unsaturated fatty acids, MUFA = monounsaturated fatty acids, PUFA = polyunsaturated fatty acids.

      Table 5. 

      Effects of feeding M. albus on muscle fatty acids of Hu sheep.