Effects of rutin supplementation on growth performance, slaughter performance, serum parameters, and meat quality of Nubian goats

Previous studies found that rutin can improve production performance of sheep and dairy cows. However, it is not clear whether rutin has similar effects in goats. Hence, the aim of this experiment was to study the effects of rutin supplementation on growth performance, slaughter performance, serum parameters, and meat quality of Nubian goats. A total of 36 healthy Nubian ewes were randomly divided into three groups. Goats were fed the basal diet supplemented with 0 (R0), 25 (R25), and 50 (R50) mg rutin per kg of diet. The growth performance and slaughter performance of goats had no significant difference among three groups. The meat pH(45min) and moisture were significantly higher in the R25 group than the R50 group (p < 0.05), but the color value b* and contents of C14:0, C16:0, C18:0, C18:1n9c, C20:1, saturated fatty acid (SFA), and monounsaturated fatty acid (MSFA) in meat had an opposite outcome. The dressing percentage had an increasing tendency in the R25 group compared with the R0 group (0.05 < p < 0.10), but the shear force, water loss rate and crude protein of meat had opposite results. In conclusion, rutin could not affect the growth performance and slaughter performance of goats; low levels could possibly improve meat quality.