Sesame Meal: The Ideal Alternative to Soybean Meal for Fattening Beef Cattle—Reducing Nitrogen Excretion and Bolstering Antioxidant Defenses
Shengnan Min, Yingqi Li, Changxiao Shi, Huili Wang, Hongliang Zhang, Shuo Zhang, Yawen Luo, Yan Lu, Yang He, Binghai Cao, Huawei Su

TL;DR
Sesame meal can replace soybean meal in beef cattle diets, improving antioxidants and reducing nitrogen waste without harming growth.
Contribution
Demonstrates sesame meal as a viable, sustainable alternative to soybean meal in beef cattle feed.
Findings
Replacing soybean meal with sesame meal increased catalase activity and improved antioxidant capacity in beef cattle.
Sesame meal reduced urinary nitrogen and serum urea nitrogen, indicating better nitrogen utilization.
Rumen microbial composition shifted toward more beneficial bacteria with sesame meal inclusion.
Abstract
Sesame meal possesses high crude protein content (40–50%), abundant methionine, and natural antioxidant components such as lignan compounds, making it a high-quality feed alternative to soybean meal in ruminant production. This study systematically evaluated the effects of completely replacing soybean meal with sesame meal in the diet on growth performance, serum biochemistry, antioxidant activity, rumen fermentation parameters, and microbial composition in finishing beef cattle. The trial employed a completely randomised design, selecting 18 Angus bulls with similar initial body weights (566.7 ± 38.1 kg). Animals were randomly assigned to the SBM group (n = 9) and SSM group (n = 9), with a 7-day pre-trial period followed by a 96-day main trial period. Results indicate that replacing soybean meal with sesame meal significantly enhances the antioxidant capacity of fattening beef cattle.…
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Taxonomy
TopicsSesame and Sesamin Research · Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive Physiology · Phytoestrogen effects and research
