Effects of cassava foliage on feed digestion, meat quality, and antioxidative status of geese

ABSTRACT As the by-product of cassava, cassava foliage (CF) has been widely used in livestock feed. However, little information is available on its utilization for geese. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of CF on the feed digestion, meat quality, and antioxidative status of geese. A total of 108 male Hainan indigenous geese (28-days-old) with similar body weight were randomly and evenly divided into 3 groups, and the geese were fed for 42 D on either the control diet (CON) consisting of ground maize, soybean meal, and wheat bran, or the experimental diet composed of ground maize, soybean meal, and wheat bran supplemented with 5% (CF1) or 10% (CF2) CF. Dietary nutrient digestibility, physicochemical properties, amino acid and fatty acid composition of meat, and antioxidative status of geese were evaluated. The results showed that supplementation of CF in goose diets enhanced the feed digestion and affected the meat quality. In addition, supplementation of CF had beneficial effects on the regulation of amino acid and fatty acid profiles in muscle tissues. Moreover, such supplementation had no significant effect on antioxidative status. Taken together, goose diet containing 5% CF was recommended based on feed efficiency and meat quality.