Effect of Wolfberry Polysaccharide Additive Premixed Feed on Fattening Effect of Tan Sheep

Hua YUN Youren DING Zongshan WU Ningan MEI Jianning DING Yuping YAN Haigang DA Jianming RUAN Li LI

Abstract [Objectives] This study was conducted to explore and rationally use the effective value and nutritional components of wolfberry polysaccharide to provide a basis for the use of new feed resources. [Methods] The premixed feed prepared with the wolfberry polysaccharide additive was applied to fattening Tan sheep in Ningxia， and the effect of the wolfberry polysaccharide additive on the fattening Tan sheep was analyzed， so as to provide technical support for the rational utilization of the wolfberry polysaccharide resources. The study adopted a single-factor comparison method， selecting 84 tan sheep in the fattening period with conform gender， feeding management， weight， age， and physiological status， which were divided into 2 test groups and 1 control group， 28 in each group. [Results] Within 90 d， the weight gain of the group with 0.1% wolfberry polysaccharide additive increased by 6.98%， showing a significant difference （P<0.05）， and the feed conversion ratio decreased by 9.66%， which was significant as well （P<0.05）. The gross profit of this group was 125.76 yuan， which was higher than the control group by 57.52 yuan. The group with 0.2% wolfberry polysaccharide additive increased the weight gain by 8.63%， which was significant （P<0.05）， and the feed conversion ratio decreased by 10.80%， which was significant as well （P<0.05）. The gross profit of group 2 was 125.76 yuan， which was higher than the control group by 63.41 yuan. There were no significant differences in weight gain， feed conversion ratio and gross profit between the groups with 0.1% and 0.2% of wolfberry polysaccharide additive. The results showed that the use of wolfberry polysaccharide additive premixed feed has a positive effect on increasing the weight gain of fattening Tan sheep， reducing the feed conversion ratio， and improving the feed conversion efficiency. The addition of 0.1% and 0.2% of the wolfberry polysaccharide additive premixed feed had no significant differences. [Conclusions] The wolfberry polysaccharide additive has a positive effect on increasing the weight gain of fattening Tan sheep， reducing the feed conversion ratio， and improving the feed conversion efficiency.

Key words Wolfberry polysaccharide; Feed additive; Tan sheep; Fattening effect

Wolfberry is a precious Chinese medicinal material in China， which is rich in proteins， vitamins， fats， essential amino acids， minerals， and active ingredients such as wolfberry polysaccharide， taurine， cryptoxanthin， zeaxanthin and lutein. Wolfberry polysaccharide is the main immunologically active component， mainly including glucose， rhamnose， galactose， arabinose， mannose and xylose， of which glucose， galactose and arabinose are rich in content. For animals， wolfberry polysaccharide can effectively improve humoral immunity and cellular immunity. Scientific experiments have verified that it is non-toxic， harmless， green and environmentally friendly， and can effectively improve animal health and production performance. It is necessary to explore and rationally utilize the effective value and nutritional components of wolfberry polysaccharide， so as to provide a basis for the use of new feed resources. In this study， the premixed feed prepared with wolfberry polysaccharide additive was applied to fattening Tan sheep in Ningxia， and the effect of the wolfberry polysaccharide additive on the fattening Tan sheep was analyzed. This study provides technical support for the rational utilization of wolfberry polysaccharide resources.

Experimental Design

Experimental materials

The content of the wolfberry polysaccharide additive was 50%， and it was produced by Xi'an Shengqing Biological Technology Co.， Ltd. Premixed feed （4%） and concentrate supplement were produced by Ningxia Longtu Taili Feed Factory. The experimental Tan sheep， 8 months old， were provided by Ningxia Sheep Farm.

Experimental grouping

A single factor feeding comparison experiment was conducted， and 84 Tan sheep with conform gender， feeding management， age， body weight and physiological state were selected and divided into 2 groups and 1 control group， 28 in each group. The sheep were raised intensively in groups and uniformly worn ear tags.

Experimental treatments

The experiment was conducted in Ningxia Sheep Farm from July 25 to October 23， 2019. The premixed feed with different dosages of wolfberry polysaccharide additive was used as treatment. The dosage of group 1 was 0.1%， the dosage of group 2 was 0.2%， and the control group was not added with wolfberry polysaccharide additive.

Experimental diet

The diet was composed of concentrated feed， silage and roughage. The concentrated feed was prepared from corn， soybean meal， cotton meal， alfalfa meal， and premixed feed. The roughage was silage and straw meal. The formula and nutritional indicators are shown in Table 1-Table 3.

Experimental time

The deworming and stomach invigorating were carried out before the experiment， and the experiment period was 90 d.

Determined items

Body weight： The body weight was measured at the beginning and end of the experiment.

Feed consumption： The actual consumption of concentrate was recorded.

Feed conversion ratio： The feed conversion ratio was calculated on the basis of the feed consumption and the weight gain.

Statistical method

The biological statistics adopted analysis of variance， and the economic benefit was calculated， so as to make a correct evaluation of the results.

Results and Analysis

Visual observation

The feces， hair color and mental state were normal in different groups， without significant differences， and there were no clinical symptoms.

Production performance comparison

The results of weight gain and feed conversion ratio are shown in Table 4.

It can be seen from Table 4 that ① Average weight gain： The average weight gain was 166.54 g in group 1， which was 6.98% higher than the control group， showing a significant difference （P<0.05）; the value in group 2 was 169.11 g， which was 8.63% higher than the control group， showing a significant difference as well （P<0.05）; and group 2 was higher than group 1， without a significant difference. ② Feed conversion ratio： The feed conversion ration of group 1 was 5.52 g， lower than the control group by 9.66%， which was significant （P<0.05）; the value of group 2 was 5.45 g， lower than the control group by 10.80%， which was significant （P<0.05）; and group 2 was higher than group 1， without a significant difference.

Economic benefit

The economic benefit analysis is shown in Table 5.

The analysis of economic benefits showed that the gross profit of group 1 was 125.76 yuan， which was higher than the control group by 57.52 yuan; the gross profit of group 2 was 125.76 yuan， which was higher than the control group by 63.41 yuan; and the gross profit of group 2 was higher than group 1 by 6.09 yuan.

Conclusions and Discussion

The use of wolfberry polysaccharide additive premixed feed has no adverse reaction to fattening Tan sheep. The visual observation showed that the feces， hair color and mental state were good in different groups， and there were no clinical symptoms. The weight gain of the group with 0.1% wolfberry polysaccharide additive increased by 6.98%， showing a significant difference （P<0.05）， and the feed conversion ratio decreased by 9.66%， which was significant as well （P<0.05）. The group with 0.2% wolfberry polysaccharide additive increased the weight gain by 8.63%， which was significant （P<0.05）， and the feed conversion ratio decreased by 10.80%， which was significant as well （P<0.05）. The weight gain and feed conversion ratio were not significantly different between the groups with 0.1% and 0.2% wolfberry polysaccharide additives. The results showed that the use of wolfberry polysaccharide additive premixed feed has a positive effect on increasing the weight gain of fattening Tan sheep， reducing the feed conversion ratio， and improving the feed conversion efficiency. There were no significant differences between adding 0.1% and 0.2% of wolfberry polysaccharide additive premixed feed.

Economic benefit analysis of the two experimental groups： The gross profit of group 1 was 125.76 yuan， which was higher than the control group by 57.52 yuan; the gross profit of group 2 was 125.76 yuan， which was higher than the control group by 63.41 yuan; and the gross profit of group 2 was higher than group 1 by 6.09 yuan. The results showed that the use of wolfberry polysaccharide additive premixed feed can significantly increase the income of fattening Tan sheep. The use of wolfberry polysaccharide additive premixed feed has obvious fattening effect and economic benefits for fattening Tan sheep. Adding 0.2% of wolfberry polysaccharide additive premixed feed was better than 0.1%， but the difference was not obvious. Considering the cost of addition， 0.1% is enough， but because this study did not involve research on animal immunity， the better ratio needs to be further explored.

References

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