Effects of Ginger Straw Silage with Enzymes on Growth Performance, Digestion and Metabolism, Meat Quality and Rumen Microflora Diversity of Laiwu Black Goat.

Simple Summary: Ginger and its straw contain not only gingerol and other active ingredients but also proteins, sugars, vitamins, and other nutrients, and are potential feed resources. At present, research on ginger straw feed has mainly focused on pig and poultry breeding, with that related to ruminant animal research being relatively rare. The enzyme silage treatment of ginger straw cannot only effectively be used to retain the nutrients in ginger straw, improve its palatability, and prolong the storage time of the ginger straw, but it can also effectively increase animal digestion. The Laiwu black goat is an excellent local germplasm resource. Here, the effects of enzymatic silage ginger straw silage on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, slaughter performance, muscle quality, serum biochemical indices, intestinal microflora, and antioxidant activity in Laiwu black goats were studied. The aim was to determine the effect of enzymatic silage ginger straw on Laiwu black goat feeding. Laiwu black goats comprise an excellent local germplasm resource; however, a shortage of feed resources has led to the application of unconventional feed. Ginger straw feed has good physiological effects, but research on this feed source for ruminant animals is lacking. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of enzymatic silage ginger straw on Laiwu black goat performance. The experiment used an independent sample t-test analysis method; 24 healthy Laiwu black goats with a body weight of 20.05 ± 1.15 kg and age of 5.67 ± 0.25 months were randomly divided into two groups with three replicates (bars) per group and four goats per replicate. The experimental diet was composed of mixed concentrate, silage, and garlic peel at a 2:7:1 ratio. The silage used in the two groups was whole corn silage (CON group) and 60% whole corn silage plus 40% enzymatic silage ginger straw (SG group), and the other components were identical. Daily feed intake/daily gain (F/G) was significantly higher in the SG group than in the CON group (p < 0.05), but there were no significant differences in dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) digestibility between the groups. The shear force, cooking loss, centrifugal loss, and pressure loss of the longissimus dorsi muscle group were significantly lower in the SG than in the CON group (p < 0.05). Compared with those in the CON group, the serum and liver total antioxidant capacity was significantly increased in the SG group, and in the liver, the O2·−, malondialdehyde, and OH· contents were significantly decreased. Collectively, the rumen fluid microbial diversity was changed in the SG group. It was concluded that enzymatic silage ginger straw usage instead of 40% whole silage corn as feed for Laiwu black goats can significantly improve the muscle quality, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal flora, with no adverse effects on production performance. In conclusion, our study provides a basis for ginger straw processing and storage and its rational application in the Laiwu black goat diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]