Nutritive Value and Meat Characteristics of Sheep Fed Toona sinensis (A. Juss.)

Abstract

Toona sinensis is a widely distributed tree in Asia with buds that are treasured as “forest-vegetables”, while millions of mature leaves are discarded as waste. This study first analyzed the nutrient composition of mature leaves of T. sinensis and then explored their effects when fed to sheep. Results indicated that mature leaves of T. sinensis were rich in crude protein and minerals and were readily eaten by sheep. Compared with grass-fed sheep (CK), the meat of T. sinensis-fed sheep (TS) had slightly higher content of protein, unsaturated fatty acid, essential amino acid and lower cholesterol content. The score of the ratio coefficient of amino acids of meat from TS (81.01) was over 16% higher than CK (69.56). All results showed that the mature leaves of T. sinensis have positive effects on meat characteristics and nutritional status of sheep and are promising as a novel, nutritious feed resource.