Advances in nutritional value and bioactive substances in forage shrubs in the Yungui area

The forage shrub is a major plant protein food for livestock and poultry with high protein, low fiber, high minerals, and good palatability, and plays an important role in grassland animal husbandry. We summarized the common forage shrub species and their nutritional value and bioactive substances in the Yunnan-guizhou region, as well as the medicinal value of several kinds of forage shrubs. Meanwhile, we also reviewed the high nutritional value and systematic forage shrubs. The results indicated that the crude protein contents of shrubs of Indigofera, Albizzia, Sophora, and Amorpha of Leguminosae, and the Broussonetia of Moraceae in this region is >20%, which belong to high-protein fodder; the crude protein:crude fibre of Morus mongolica and M. australis is <1, and their palatability is better; the shrubs of Desmodiumthe, Bauhinia, and Indigofera of Leguminosae, Rubus and Cotoneaster of Rosaceae, and Morus of Moraceae are high-quality mineral fodder; the shrubs of Leguminosae’s Sophor are high amino acid fodder; the shrubs of Buddleia and Brucaceae of Loganiaceae, Rubus, Rosa, and Pyracantha of Rosaceae, and Gutiferae’s Hypericum are rich in flavonoids, tannins, and other bioactive substances, which have antibacterial, antioxidant, and other medicinal values. Based on the above, the main research areas for herbage shrubs in the future are as follows: to decrease the effect of antinutritional factors in forage shrubs, to strengthen the domesticated wild forage shrubs, to develop scientific fodder production technology, and to clear the main genera’s bioactive components and pharmacological values, which will provide some practical guidelines for the reasonable development and utilization of forage shrubs and animal husbandry development in the Yunnan-guizhou region.