The aim of this study was to assess the ability of electronic tongue system TS-5000Z to evaluate meat quality based on flavor assessment, recognition and correlation with the meat chemical composition. Meat was sampled from eighteen beef cattle including 6 Wagyu breed cattle, 6 Angus breed cattle and 6 Simmental breed cattle. Chemical composition including dry matter, crude protein, fat, ash, cholesterol and taurine and flavor of the meat were measured. The results showed that different breed cattle had different chemical compositions and flavor, which contains sourness, umami, saltiness, bitterness, astringency, aftertaste from astringency, aftertaste from bitterness and aftertaste from umami, respectively. A principal component analysis (PCA) showed an easily visible separation between different breeds of cattle and indicated that TS-5000Z made a rapid identification of different breeds of cattle. In addition, TS-5000Z seemed to be used to predict the chemical composition according to its correlation with the flavor. In conclusion, TS-5000Z would be used as a rapid analytical tool to evaluate the beef quality both qualitatively and quantitatively, based on flavor assessment, recognition and chemical composition according to its correlation with flavor.

The objective of this trial was to study the influence of dietary fiber sources on the gastrointestinal fermentation, digestive enzyme activity, and

In the present study, calcium propionate (CaP) was used as feed additive in the diet of calves to investigate their effects on rumen fermentation and the development of rumen epithelium in calves. To elucidate the mechanism in which CaP improves development of calf rumen epithelium via stimulating the messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of G protein-coupled receptors, a total of 54 male Jersey calves (age=7±1 days, BW=23.1±1.2 kg) were randomly divided into three treatment groups: control without CaP supplementation (Con), 5% CaP supplementation (5% CaP) and 10% CaP supplementation (10% CaP). The experiment lasted 160 days and was divided into three feeding stages: Stage 1 (days 0 to 30), Stage 2 (days 31 to 90) and Stage 3 (days 91 to 160). Calcium propionate supplementation percentages were calculated on a dry matter basis. In total, six calves from each group were randomly selected and slaughtered on days 30, 90 and 160 at the conclusion of each experimental feeding stage. Rumen fermentation was improved with increasing concentration of CaP supplementation in calves through the first 30 days (Stage 1). No effects of CaP supplementation were observed on rumen fermentation in calves during Stage 2 (days 31 to 90). Supplementation with 5% CaP increased propionate concentration, but not acetate and butyrate in calves during Stage 3 (days 91 to 160). The rumen papillae length of calves in the 5% CaP supplementation group was greater than that of Con groups in calves after 160 days feeding. The mRNA expression of G protein-coupled receptor 41 (GPR41) and GPR43 supplemented with 5% CaP were greater than the control group and 10% CaP group in feeding 160 days calves. 5% CaP supplementation increased the mRNA expression of cyclin D1, whereas did not increase the mRNA expression of cyclin-dependent kinase 4 compared with the control group in feeding 160-day calves. These results indicate that propionate may act as a signaling molecule to improve rumen epithelium development through stimulating mRNA expression of GPR41 and GPR43.

Aims To investigate the changes in fermentation quality of whole‐plant corn silage ensiled with varying dosages of mixed organic acid salts (MS), and link these dosage changes to shifts in bacterial composition. Methods and Results Fermentation quality and bacterial community of corn silage ensiled with MS at four application rates (0, 0·67 g kg⁻¹, 1·33 g kg⁻¹, and 2·00 g kg⁻¹) were investigated. The MS consisted of 40% potassium sorbate and 60% sodium benzoate. The corn silages were conserved for 42 days. Dry matter losses and ammonia nitrogen concentration were linearly declined by up to 19·10 and 33·3% with increasing dosages of MS. MS treatments significantly reduced the pH of silage vs the control group. Further analysis indicated that the improvement of fermentation quality was the result of shifts in bacterial composition, the relative abundance of Lactobacillus paralimentarius and Pediococcus spp. increased while Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillus coryniformis and Klebsiella declined with increasing dosages of MS. Conclusions MS effectively improved the fermentation quality of whole‐plant corn silage with an optimum dosage of 2·00 g kg⁻¹. Significance and Impact of the Study The correlation between bacterial taxa and fermentation quality provides a potential for the development of novel silage inoculants and for the application of MS on controlling Klebsiella mastitis of livestock farms.

To investigate the effects of calcium propionate (CaP) supplementation on performance, the development of the internal organ, and gastrointestinal tract of calves at various stages of growth period, 54 male Jersey calves (age = 7 ± 1 d, body weight(BW) = 23.1 ± 1.2 kg) were randomly allocated to three treatment groups. While control calves were fed basis dietary with no additives (0CaP), other treatment calves were fed basis dietary supplementation with CaP at 50 (5CaP) or 100 (10CaP) g kg⁻¹ dry matter. The experiment lasted 160 d and was divided into three feeding stages: Stage 1 (d 0 to 30), Stage 2 (d 31 to 90), and Stage 3 (d 91 to160). Six calves from each group were randomly selected and slaughtered on days 30, 90, and 160 when at the conclusion of each experimental feeding stage. The BW of calves increased with 10CaP after feeding 90 d, whereas it increased with 5CaP and 10CaP at feeding 120d and 160d compared to 0CaP. The 10CaP group improved average daily gain (ADG) of calves at stage 2, and d120-160 of stage 3 compared with the 0CaP group. The ADG of 5CaP was greater than the 0CaP group only at 120–160 d of stage 3 compared with the 0CaP group. The results of feed efficiency were in agreed with ADG as no dry matter intake difference at all stages of growth period. The 10CaP treatment exhibited the greatest spleen weight among the treatment at the end of the experiment; the liver weight of the 5CaP and 10CaP calves at feeding 90 d and of the 10CaP calves at feeding 160 d and were greater than those of the 0CaP animals. The CaP at the tested doses increased the rumen weight after feeding 90d of Jersey calves, and also improved the development of intestine. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with calcium propionate at the tested doses caused a beneficial effect in the growth performance and gastrointestinal tract traits of Jersey calves, thus to add 10% CaP before feeding 90 days was better and 5% CaP supplementation was expected at the period for feeding 90 to160 d.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of applying various silage additives to whole corn crops at ensiling on growth performance, rumen fermentation, and blood physiology in growing–finishing bulls. Sixty Simmental × Yellow Cattle crossbred bulls were blocked by initial body weight (BW; 324.0 ± 5.4 kg) into 15 blocks. Animals in each block were randomly assigned to one of four diets formulated based on the following corn silage: control (CON), inoculated with complex lactic acid bacteria (CLB), ensilaged with mixed organic acid salts (MS), and ensilaged with CLB and MS (CLBMS). The feeding experiment lasted over 155 days, with an additional 7 days for adaptation. The results showed that bulls fed CLB-inoculated silage had greater (p < 0.05) daily dry matter intake than the other groups. The experimental treatment had no significant effect on average daily gain (p = 0.33) and feed-to-gain ratio (p = 0.13), although bulls fed CLB-inoculated silage had a larger numeric average daily gain. All additive-treated silage increased ruminal NH₃–N content (p < 0.05) and reduced the acetate-to-propionate ratio (p < 0.05) of bulls compared with the control group. Bulls fed CLB-inoculated silage had a lower ruminal pH value (p < 0.05) than that of the other groups. Compared with the control group, bulls fed CLB-inoculated silage had greater blood cholesterol, albumin, and urea nitrogen (p < 0.05). Blood physiological responses were similar in bulls fed MS-treated and control silage, whereas those in cattle fed CLBMS-treated silage were between bulls fed CLB- and MS-treated silages and more similar to the former. Taking animal performance and cost effectiveness into consideration, the application of CLB alone to whole corn crops at ensiling appears to be a better choice compared with the application of either MS alone or both of them together.