The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of feed ingredients with different protein-to-fat ratios on growth, slaughter performance and meat quality of Small-Tail Han lambs. Forty-five Small-Tail Han lambs (♂) (BW = 34.00 ± 2.5 kg, age = 120 ± 9 d) were randomly divided into groups with three different experimental treatments: (1) PF 5, with the ratio of protein to fat (CP:EE) of 50 to 5; (2) PF10, CP: EE = 50:10; (3) PF20, CP: EE = 50:20. Each treatment group had 15 lambs, and each sheep was a repeat. This experiment lasted for 65 days, with feed intake recorded daily, and animals being weighed on days 0, 30, and 65. At the conclusion of the experiment, eight lambs from each group were slaughtered to assess slaughter performance and meat quality. The results showed that the average daily gain (ADG) of the three groups were 315.27, 370.15 and 319.42 g/d, respectively. The PF10 group had the highest ADG (370.15 g) (p < 0.05). Forestomach weights (1216.88 g) of the PF10 group were significantly higher than those of the other groups (p < 0.05). There were no differences (p > 0.05) in fat percentages in various parts of body among treatments. Feed conversion of the PF10 group was higher (p < 0.05) than that of PF 5 and PF 20 groups. Furthermore, the PF10 group had a higher (p > 0.05) carcass weight and slaughter rate and there were few differences between the other groups in terms of dry matter intake, meat quality, organ weight, and fat deposition (p > 0.05). The protein–energy supplement with protein-to-fat ratio, PF10 appeared to be more desirable to promote the growth and development in Small-Tail Han Lambs.

Acrylamide (ACR) and high contents of fat could be found co-existent in many foods processed by high temperature, such as deep-frying and roasting. This study investigated the effect of enhanced fat consumption on deficits of spermatogenesis induced by ACR, and explored potential mechanisms of oxidative damage involved in this pathology in mice. Results show that enhanced feeding of corn oil and pork fat on mice potentiated the decreases of spermatogonia along with mature sperms after treatment of ACR, and that spermatozoa quality is significantly reduced as a result of enhanced feeding of corn oil and pork fat on mice treated with ACR. Moreover, enhanced consumption of corn oil and pork fat potentiated the up-regulation of malondialdehyde (MDA) level in epididymal sperm and cauda epididymides, also up-regulated level of Protein carbonyls (PCOs) in cauda epididymides, of mice after treatment of ACR. Last, enhanced consumption of corn oil and pork fat potentiated the reduced activity of superoxide dismutases (SOD) in epididymal sperm, corpus, and cauda epididymides, also reduced activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in cauda epididymides, of mice treated with ACR. These data suggest that enhanced feeding of corn oil and pork fat on mice potentiates ACR-induced oxidative stress in the epididymis and epididymal sperm and a subsequent effect on spermatogenesis.

The health of young ruminants is highly dependent on early rumen microbial colonization. In this study, the effects of milk replacer on growth performance, rumen fermentation, and the rumen microflora in yak calves were evaluated. Sixty yak calves (body weight = 22.5 ± 0.95 kg, age = 30 ± 1 d) were assigned to the CON group (breastfed) or TRT group (milk replacer fed) and evaluated over 120 d. At 120 d, ruminal fluid samples were collected from 14 calves and then conducted for rumen fermentation and microbiota analyses. There was no difference in growth performance; however, calf survival was higher in the TRT group than in the CON group. The concentration of total volatile fatty acids and the molar proportion of butyric acid and lactic acid were increased with milk replacer feed in the TRT group (p < 0.05), but iso-valeric acid concentration was highest in the CON group (p < 0.05). Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were the most dominant phyla in the CON and TRT groups, respectively. In the TRT group, Bacteroidetes, Prevotellaceae, Bacteroidia, Bacteroidetes, and Prevotella_1 were the dominant flora in the rumen of calves. The relative abundances of various taxa were correlated with rumen fermentation parameters; the relative abundance of Quinella and iso-butyrate levels were positively correlated (r = 0.57). The relative abundances of the Christensenellaceae_R-7_group and A/P were positively correlated (r = 0.57). In summary, milk replacer is conducive to the development of the rumen microflora, the establishment of rumen fermentation function, and the implementation of early weaning in yaks.