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Analysis of institutional authors

Baila, ClàudiaAuthorLobon, SandraAuthorBlanco, MireiaAuthorCasasus, IsabelAuthorRipoll, GuillermoAuthorJoy, MargalidaCorresponding Author

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June 16, 2024
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Sainfoin can be included up to 40% in the concentrate of finishing lambs without impairing their performance, rumen fermentation, and carcass quality

Publicated to: Animal Feed Science And Technology. 312 115975- - 2024-06-01 312(), DOI: 10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2024.115975

Authors:

Baila, Claudia; Lobon, Sandra; Blanco, Mireia; Casasus, Isabel; Ripoll, Guillermo; Joy, Margalida
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Affiliations

CITA Univ Zaragoza, Inst Agroalimentario Aragon IA2, Zaragoza, Spain - Author
Ctr Invest & Tecnol Agroalimentaria Aragon CITA, Dept Ciencia Anim, Avda Montanana 930, Zaragoza 50059, Spain - Author

Abstract

Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) is an excellent forage legume to be included in sheep diets as fresh forage, but its inclusion in concentrates fed to indoor lambs reared has been scarcely studied. This study evaluated the effects of including different levels of dehydrated sainfoin in the concentrates fed to light lambs during the finishing period on animal performance, ruminal fermentation, and carcass traits. Twenty-six weaned male Rasa Aragonesa lambs (14.0 +/- 0.49 kg body weight) were randomly grouped and individually fed ad libitum with isoproteic and isoenergetic pelleted concentrates containing 0% (0SF; n=9), 20% (20SF; n=9) or 40% sainfoin (40SF; n=8) for 40 days, from weaning to slaughter. In addition, an in vitro assay was carried out to evaluate the concentrates. The 40SF lambs had a higher dry matter intake (P < 0.01) and tended to show an improvement in average daily gain (P < 0.10). The diet had no effect on carcass weight, dressing percentage, rectus abdominis color or subcutaneous caudal fat color (P > 0.05). Regarding the rumen study, the diet did not affect most ruminal fermentation parameters (P > 0.05), except for pH, which was greater in 40SF lambs than in 20SF lambs (P < 0.05), and the proportion of acetic acid and the acetic:propionic ratio, both of which were higher in 40SF and 20SF lambs than in 0SF lambs (P < 0.01). The results from the in vitro assay showed that the 40SF diet decreased the in vitro dry matter degradability, increased propionic, and decreased butyric proportion compared to 0SF concentrate (P < 0.05), but no effect was obtained for gas, methane, total volatile fatty acids, and ammonia formation among diets (P > 0.05). The lack of detrimental effects on lamb performance and carcass traits suggests that the inclusion of up to 40% sainfoin in the concentrate of light lambs reared indoors would be advisable to promote the use of local forages.
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Keywords

Condensed tanninsCrecimientoExperimentación in vitroFat colorFeeding systemsForagGrowthHedysarum-coronarium l.In vitroIn-vitroMeat qualityMetabolitesMetabolitosMethane productionOnobrychis viciifoliaOnobrychis-viciifoliaOvinosRumeRumenRuminal fermentationSheep

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal ANIMAL FEED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2024 there are still no calculated indicators, but in 2023, it was in position 15/86, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science.

Independientemente del impacto esperado determinado por el canal de difusión, es importante destacar el impacto real observado de la propia aportación.

Según las diferentes agencias de indexación, el número de citas acumuladas por esta publicación hasta la fecha 2026-03-10:

  • WoS: 3
  • Scopus: 3
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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-03-10:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 17 (PlumX).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

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Leadership analysis of institutional authors

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Baila Bigne, Claudia) and Last Author (Joy Torrens, Margalida).

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been Joy Torrens, Margalida.

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Project objectives

Los objetivos perseguidos en esta aportación fueron analizar los efectos de incluir diferentes niveles de sainfoin deshidratado en los concentrados alimenticios de corderos ligeros durante el periodo de acabado; evaluar el impacto de dicha inclusión en el rendimiento animal, la fermentación ruminal y las características de la canal; determinar las variaciones en parámetros específicos de fermentación ruminal, como el pH y la proporción de ácidos grasos volátiles; caracterizar la degradabilidad in vitro de la materia seca y la producción de gases en función del porcentaje de sainfoin; y valorar la viabilidad de incorporar hasta un 40% de sainfoin en concentrados para corderos criados en interiores sin afectar negativamente su desempeño ni calidad de canal.
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Most relevant results

Los resultados más relevantes del estudio indican que la inclusión de hasta un 40% de sainfoin en el concentrado para corderos en fase de acabado no afecta negativamente su rendimiento ni calidad de canal. En detalle, los corderos con 40% de sainfoin mostraron una mayor ingesta de materia seca (P < 0.01) y una tendencia a mejorar la ganancia diaria media (P < 0.10). No se observaron diferencias significativas en peso de canal, porcentaje de despiece ni color de músculo recto abdominal y grasa subcutánea (P > 0.05). En la fermentación ruminal, el pH fue mayor en corderos con 40% sainfoin comparado con 20% (P < 0.05), y la proporción de ácido acético y la relación acético:propiónico fueron superiores en dietas con 20 y 40% sainfoin frente a 0% (P < 0.01). El ensayo in vitro mostró menor degradabilidad
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Awards linked to the item

Appreciation is expressed to the technical staff of CITA-Aragon Animal Science department for their help in data collection. Special thanks to the staff of the Laboratory of Nutritive Value, M. A. Legua, A. Dominguez, and J. R. Bertolin for helping with the laboratory analysis and to Servicio General de Apoyo a la Investigacion-SAI, Universidad de Zaragoza, for freezing-drying of the samples. This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under Grant RTA2017-00008-C02-01; the Government of Aragon by the Grant Research Group Funds (Group A25_23R) ; and the AEI by the pre-doctoral grant PRE2018-086670.
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