ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Behavior and Welfare
Effects of Grape Pomace on Growth Performance, Serum Biochemical Indices, Amino Acid Composition, and Rumen Microbial Diversity in Dorper × Hu Hybrid Sheep
Provisionally accepted
Xinchang Sun1*
Xia Zhang1meimei teng1Yuanqiu Li1Jiangjiao Qi1Tursunay Mamtimin1
Wenda Wu2*Jiangchun Wan1- 1Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi, China
- 2Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China
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GP is a byproduct of wine-making which is rich in nutrients and bioactive substances. There is limited research on its effects to the health and rumen microbial diversity of fattening rams. This study investigated the impact of GP on the growth performance, serum biochemical index, amino acid profiles in the longissimus dorsi muscle, and rumen bacterial composition in Dorper × Hu Hybrid sheep. 18 male F1 hybrids of Dorper and Hu sheep were divided into three groups and fed 0%, 15%, 20% grape pomace complete pelleted diets for 60 days, respectively. The results indicated that (1) GP supplementation did not negatively affect the sheep's production performance; (2) GP significantly increased total protein levels and total antioxidant capacity in the serum as well as essential amino acids in the longissimus dorsi muscle; (3) Although GP didn't change overall stomach microbe diversity, it reduced specific potentially harmful bacteria Treponema D. Taken together, this study demonstrated the potential benefits of adding GP in diets for Dorper × Hu Hybrid sheep and provided a theoretical foundation for the utilization of full-price GP pellet feed.
Keywords: Dorper × Hu Hybrid Sheep, grape pomace, growth performance, Rumen microorganism, Serum biochemical indices
Received: 02 Oct 2025; Accepted: 05 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Sun, Zhang, teng, Li, Qi, Mamtimin, Wu and Wan. 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:
Xinchang Sun
Wenda Wu
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