ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Nutrition and Metabolism
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1681407
This article is part of the Research TopicInnovative Solutions in Animal Nutrition to Enhance the Sustainability of the Zootechnical Production SystemView all articles
Effects of Replacing Soybean Meal with Cottonseed Meal in Amino Acid Balanced Diets on Growth Performance, Apparent Digestibility, Ruminal Fermentation, and Microbial Diversity in Fattening Dorper × Hu Crossbred Sheep
Provisionally accepted
- 1Xinjiang Agricultural University, Ürümqi, China
- 2Xinjiang Taikun Group Co., Ltd., Changji, China
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Amino acid balanced cottonseed meal can effectively replace soybean meal in sheep diets, improving energy utilization without harming growth or health. This study aimed to investigate the effects of replacing soybean meal with cottonseed meal under amino acid balance on growth performance, blood biochemical indices, apparent digestibility, antioxidant function, and ruminal microbial diversity in fattening Dorper × Hu crossbred sheep. A total of 112 healthy 90-day-old Dorper × Hu crossbred rams with similar body weights were randomly divided into 4 groups with 28 sheep each, for a 63-day trial. The control group (CON) was fed a corn-soybean meal diet; T1 group replaced 50% soybean meal with cottonseed meal and balanced lysine and methionine; T2 group replaced 100% soybean meal with cottonseed meal and balanced lysine and methionine; T3 group replaced 100% soybean meal with degossypolized cottonseed meal and balanced lysine and methionine. Results showed no significant differences among groups in average daily gain, average daily dry matter intake, feed conversion ratio, blood biochemical indices, antioxidant indices, and ruminal microbial α and β diversity (P>0.05). Cottonseed meal replacement significantly affected apparent digestibility, with T2 group exhibiting the highest digestibility of crude protein, crude fat, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber (P<0.05). Ruminal propionic acid concentration was significantly higher in replacement groups than in CON (P<0.01), and acetic acid-to-propionic acid ratio was lower (P<0.05). LEfSe analysis revealed the most microbial biomarkers enriched in T3 group. In conclusion, under amino acid balance, cottonseed meal can fully replace soybean meal without compromising growth and health while improving nutrient digestibility and rumen fermentation. These findings provide a scientific basis for soybean meal reduction strategies in ruminant feeding. Future research should explore optimal substitution strategies under different production systems and investigate long-term effects on meat quality and economic benefits.
Keywords: Cottonseed meal, Amino acid balance, growth performance, Blood biochemical indices, Apparent digestibility, ruminal microbial diversity
Received: 07 Aug 2025; Accepted: 14 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yue, Lin, Lv, Liu, Deng, Li, Li and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Kaixu Chen, chenkaixu@xjau.edu.cn
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