Effects of a high-rice dietary proportion on the meat quality, acute phase reaction proteins (APRPs) and colonic microbiota and metabolites in goats are rarely reported. This study was designed to investigate the meat quality and metabolism in goats. Sixteen goats were equally divided into two groups and fed a control diet (Con, 55% concentrate) or a high-rice diet (HR, 90% concentrate) for five weeks. We found that the HR diet improved the slaughtering characteristic and meat quality but induced an acute phase reaction and decreased bacterial richness and diversity when compared to the control group. Furthermore, the levels of acetate, propionate and total VFA concentrations were higher in the colonic contents of the HR-fed goats than in those of the control group (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, the HR diet decreased the pH value, lactic acid concentration and increased the activity of amylase and lipopolysaccharide concentration in the colonic contents of goats (p < 0.05). The proportion of Oscillibacter increased while Phocaeicola and Christensenellaceae_R-7_group significantly decreased with the HR diet (p < 0.05). Collectively, the HR diet induced an acute phase reaction and altered the colonic bacterial community, which increases the health risk to growing goats.

This study aimed to explore the effects of light-emitting diode (LED) light colors on growth, intestinal morphology, and cecal microbiota in broilers. A total of 360 healthy male Arbor Acres (AA) broilers with similar weights were selected and divided into four groups with six replicates in each group and 15 broilers in each replicate: LED white light (W), LED green light (G), LED blue light (B), and LED blue–green composite light (BG). The experimental period was 42 d, the light cycle of each treatment group was 23L:1D (23 h of light, one hour of darkness) from 1 to 3 d, and the light cycle from 4 to 42 d was 16L:8D; light intensity was 20 Lux. The results showed that the average daily feed intake and final weight of broilers receiving the B group were the highest in 21 d and 42 d compared with other groups. The average daily feed intake of the BG group was lower than that of the B group. In the same light color, small intestine villus height grows with age. On days 21 and 42, compared with other groups, the ileal villus height was higher, the crypt depth was lower, and the V/C ratio (villus to crypt ratio) was higher in the BG group. The combination of blue–green composite light was beneficial to increase the content of propionate, isobutyrate, butyrate, isovalerate, and valerate in the cecum of 21-day-old broilers and the content of isobutyrate in the cecum of 42-day-old broilers, and a decrease in cecal short-chain fatty acid concentrations with age. The B group and the BG group had higher abundances of Bacteroidetes at day 21 of age and lower abundances of Phascolarctobacterium at day 42. However, no cecal microbiota differences were detected by the Bonferroni-corrected test. In general, our research results showed that light color could promote the growth of broilers by affecting intestinal morphology, microbiota abundance (needs to be validated by further experiments), and cecal short-chain fatty acid concentrations. And blue and blue–green composite lights are more suitable for broiler growth.

In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of Macleaya cordata extract (MCE) supplementation on performance, nutrient apparent digestibilities, plasma metabolites, and milk quality in dairy goats. Twenty-four lactating Guanzhong dairy goats (n = 24) were randomly divided into two groups (each containing 12 goats) in a 52-day trial: the CON group was fed a basal diet; the MCE group was fed a basal diet supplemented with 400 mg/kg MCE. The results indicated that the 4% fat corrected milk yield (4% FCM); uncorrected milk yield; milk-fat concentration; content of C4:0, C18:0, and C18:1n9c fatty acids in milk; and apparent digestibility of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) in the MCE group were significantly higher (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the lactoferrin (LTF), alpha-lactalbumin (α-La), and beta-lactoglobulin (β-Lg) of the milk and feed conversion rate (FCR) of the goats were significantly greater (p < 0.01) in the MCE group than in the CON group. In contrast, the somatic cell count (SCC) (p < 0.01), content of C14:0 fatty acids (p < 0.01) of milk, and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentrations (p < 0.05) were significantly lower in the in the MCE goats. These results show that the feeding of MCE can increase the performance and apparent nutrient digestibility of fiber in dairy goats, improving the quality of goat milk.