Effects of dietary Acremonium terricola culture supplementation on the quality, conventional characteristics, and flavor substances of Hortobágy goose meat

Acremonium terricola culture supplementation in the diet of pregnant and lactating Ewes can improve the production performance of Ewes and lambs by regulating maternal metabolism and antibody delivery

BACKGROUND

The fungal culture of Acremonium terricola culture (ATC) has been extensively utilized in livestock farming systems due to its demonstrated efficacy in improving productivity and preventing disease outbreaks. However, the effects of dietary ATC supplementation on pregnant and lactating ewes and their offspring remain a critical knowledge gap requiring investigation. Therefore, this study was designed to address two primary objectives: (1) to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation with ATC on production performance and hematological parameters in ewes; (2) to determine whether maternally ingested ATC can be transmitted to offspring via lactation and subsequently influence lamb growth performance. This study employed eighteen ewes randomly stratified into two groups: a basal diet control (CON, n = 9) and an experimental group receiving basal diet supplementation with 9 g of ATC per ewe daily (ATC, n = 9). The study design comprised a 115-day protocol consisting of a 10-day pre-experimental acclimatization phase with environmental parameter standardization, followed by a 105-day controlled experimental intervention period.

RESULTS

The findings demonstrated that administration of ATC supplemented diets throughout the gestational-lactational period significantly enhanced maternal dry matter intake (DMI) and late-gestation (day 145) body mass (p < 0.05), concurrently attenuating gestational lipolysis compared with control group. Regarding lactation performance, ATC supplementation led to an increase in the average daily milk yield (0.90 vs. 0.78 kg/d), decelerated the decline rate of the lactation peak, and enhanced milk quality by boosting the percentages of milk fat, total solids (Ts), and urea content (p < 0.05). Moreover, ATC supplementation elevated serum levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA), urea, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in pregnant and lactating ewes, while decreasing the interleukin-6 (IL-6) level (p < 0.05). For lambs, the supplementation of ATC in ewes' diets significantly improved the average daily gain (ADG) during the 1-45-day nursing period (p < 0.05) and showed a trend toward increased weaning weight at 45 days of nursing (p = 0.061). Biochemically, lambs from the ATC - supplemented group exhibited significantly higher serum concentrations of urea, IgA, interleukin-4 (IL-4), catalase (CAT), SOD, and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), along with lower serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) content (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Maternal dietary supplementation with ATC demonstrated dual zootechnical benefits, effectively augmenting ovine productive efficiency through enhanced milk synthesis capacity, improving the immune and antioxidant levels of the body, while concurrently stimulating neonatal development of pre-weaning growth velocity.

Effects of dietary Acremonium terricola culture on production performance, serum biochemical parameters, egg quality and yolk amino acid contents of Beijing You-chicken

The effects of Acremonium terricola culture (ATC) on production performance, serum biochemical parameters, egg quality and amino acid contents in the yolk of eggs of Beijing You-chicken were conducted in the current study. A total of 216 Beijing You-chickens (330 days old) were randomly divided into 2 groups. The control group (CON) was fed a corn-soybean-based diet, and the experimental group was fed a basal diet supplemented with 0.20% ATC. The pretest period was 7 d, and the experiment period was 8 weeks. The production performance, serum biochemical parameters, egg quality, and the concentrations of amino acids in the yolk of eggs were measured at the 4 weeks (FW, the first stage) and the 8 weeks (EW, the second stage) of the experiment, respectively. Compared with the CON group, there were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in the production performance of the experimental group at the end of four- and eight-week periods of study. The concentration of serum LH, FSH and E2 increased significantly for the ATC group, at both time periods when compared to CON group, while the triglyceride (TG) content was only increased significantly (P < 0.05) in the first stage. The average egg weight, albumen height, and Haugh unit representing egg quality of Beijing You-chickens in the experimental group were increased significantly (P < 0.05) compared with the CON group at both time periods, while the egg shape index and yolk weight were only increased significantly (P < 0.05) in the second stage. The protein content in the yolk was increased significantly at both time periods (P < 0.05). Levels of lecithin and Vitamin A in yolks of the ATC supplemented group increased significantly (P < 0.05) compared to the CON group, at both FW and EW, respectively. The contents of aspartic acid, threonine, methionine, leucine, and arginine were increased significantly in the first stage. In addition, the contents of threonine, glutamine, and valine were increased significantly in the second stage (P < 0.05). Our results suggest that dietary supplementation with 0.20% ATC improves serum biochemical parameters and egg quality in Beijing You-chickens. Future studies should focus on optimizing ATC dosage and exploring its underlying mechanisms for enhanced poultry production.

Thermosensitive Injectable Dual Drug-Loaded Chitosan-Based Hydrogels for Treating Bacterial Endometritis

Endometritis, a prevalent obstetric condition primarily caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), significantly threatens the reproductive performance of female animals. In this study, thermosensitive injectable chitosan (CS)/β-glycerophosphate (β-GP) hydrogels loaded with berberine (BBR) and carvacrol (CAR) were prepared for endometritis treatment. In vitro, BBR/CAR-CS/β-GP hydrogels exhibited rapid gelation within 5 min at 37 °C, excellent injectability, and more than 90% degradation within 30 days under enzymatic action. The dual drug-loaded system also exhibited controlled release of BBR and CAR and demonstrated the antimicrobial activity against E. coli and S. aureus. In vivo, uterine injection of BBR/CAR-CS/β-GP hydrogels alleviated infection-induced injuries and reduced the bacterial load in infected uterine tissues. In summary, these findings highlight the potential of BBR/CAR-CS/β-GP hydrogels as innovative carriers for drug delivery targeting endometritis.

Comparison of lipidome profiles in serum from lactating dairy cows supplemented with Acremonium terrestris culture based on UPLC-QTRAP-MS/MS

This study evaluated the effects of supplementing the diet of lactating cows with Acremonium terrestris culture (ATC) on milk production, serum antioxidant capacity, inflammatory indices, and serum lipid metabolomics. Over 90 days, 24 multiparous Chinese Holstein cows in mid-lactation (108 ± 10.4 days in milk, 637 ± 25 kg body weight, 30.23 ± 3.7 kg/d milk yield) were divided into either a control diet (CON) or a diet supplemented with 30 g of ATC daily. All the data were analyzed using Student's t test with SPSS 20.0 software. The results showed that compared with CON feeding, ATC feeding significantly increased milk yield, antioxidant capacity, and immune function. Lipidome screening identified 143 lipid metabolites that differed between the two groups. Further analysis using "random forest" machine learning revealed three glycerophospholipid serum metabolites that could serve as lipid markers with a predictive accuracy of 91.67%. This study suggests that ATC can be a useful dietary supplement for improving lactational performance in dairy cows and provides valuable insights into developing nutritional strategies to maintain metabolic homeostasis in ruminants.

Weighted gene co-expression network analysis reveals genes related to growth performance in Hu sheep

Hu sheep are a unique breed in our country with great reproductive potential, the extent of whose breeding has been steadily rising in recent years. The study subjects in this experiment were 8-month-old Hu sheep (n = 112). First of all, the growth performance, slaughter performance and meat quality of their eye muscle quality were assessed, meanwhile their live weight, carcass weight, body length, body height, chest circumference, chest depth and tube circumference were respectively 33.81 ± 5.47 kg, 17.43 ± 3.21 kg, 60.36 ± 4.41 cm, 63.25 ± 3.88 cm, 72.03 ± 5.02 cm, 30.70 ± 2.32 cm and 7.36 ± 0.56 cm, with a significant difference between rams and ewes (P < 0.01). Following that, transcriptome sequencing was done, and candidate genes related to growth performance were identified using the weighted co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) approach, which was used to identified 15 modules, with the turquoise and blue modules having the strongest association with growth and slaughter performance, respectively. We discovered hub genes such as ARHGAP31, EPS8, AKT3, EPN1, PACS2, KIF1C, C12H1orf115, FSTL1, PTGFRN and IFIH1 in the gene modules connected with growth and slaughter performance. Our research identifies the hub genes associated with the growth and slaughter performance of Hu sheep, which play an important role in their muscle growth, organ and cartilage development, blood vessel development and energy metabolic pathways. Our findings might lead to the development of potentially-useful biomarkers for the selection of growth and slaughterer performance-related attributes of sheep and other livestock.

Study on the current research trends and future agenda in animal products: an Asian perspective

This study aimed to analyze the leading research materials and research trends related to livestock food in Asia in recent years and propose future research agendas to ultimately contribute to the development of related livestock species. On analyzing more than 200 relevant articles, a high frequency of studies on livestock species and products with large breeding scales and vast markets was observed. Asia possesses the largest pig population and most extensive pork market, followed by that of beef, chicken, and milk; moreover, blood and egg markets have also been studied. Regarding research keywords, "meat quality" and "probiotics" were the most common, followed by "antioxidants", which have been extensively studied in the past, and "cultured meat", which has recently gained traction. The future research agenda for meat products is expected to be dominated by alternative livestock products, such as cultured and plant-derived meats; improved meat product functionality and safety; the environmental impacts of livestock farming; and animal welfare research. The future research agenda for dairy products is anticipated to include animal welfare, dairy production, probiotic-based development of high-quality functional dairy products, the development of alternative dairy products, and the advancement of lactose-free or personalized dairy products. However, determining the extent to which the various research articles' findings have been applied in real-world industry proved challenging, and research related to animal food laws and policies and consumer surveys was lacking. In addition, studies on alternatives for sustainable livestock development could not be identified. Therefore, future research may augment industrial application, and multidisciplinary research related to animal food laws and policies as well as eco-friendly livestock production should be strengthened.

The effect of combined dietary supplementation of herbal additives on carcass traits, meat quality, immunity and cecal microbiota composition in Hungarian white geese

The present study was performed to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with herbal additives on meat quality, slaughter performance and the cecal microbial community in Hungarian white geese. A total of 60 newborn geese were assigned equally into the control group (CON) and the herbal complex supplemented group (HS). The dietary supplementations consisted of Compound Herbal Additive A (CHAA) including Pulsatilla, Gentian and Rhizoma coptidis, and Compound Herbal Additive B (CHAB) containing Codonopsis pilosula, Atractylodes, Poria cocos and Licorice. The geese in the HS group received a basal diet supplemented with 0.2% CHAA from day 0 to day 42 at the postnatal stage. Then from day 43 to day 70, the geese in HS group were provide a basal diet with 0.15% CHAB. The geese in the CON group were only provided with the basal diet. The results showed that the slaughter rate (SR), half chamber rates (HCR), eviscerated rate (ER) and breast muscle rate (BMR) in the HS group tended to increase slightly compared with the CON group (ns). In addition, the shear force, filtration rate and pH value of breast muscle and thigh muscle in the HS group were slightly enhanced compared to the CON group (ns). Significant increased levels in carbohydrate content, fat content and energy (P < 0.01) and significant decreased levels in cholesterol content (P < 0.01) were observed in the muscle of the HS group. The total amino acid (Glu, Lys, Thr and Asp) content in the muscle increased in HS group than in the CON group (P < 0.01). Dietary herb supplementations significantly increased the levels of IgG in serum (P < 0.05) on day 43 and higher levels of IgM, IgA and IgG (P < 0.01) were also observed in the HS group on day 70. Furthermore, 16S rRNA sequencing results indicated that herbal additives increased the growth of beneficial bacteria and inhibited the proliferation of harmful bacteria in the geese caecum. Altogether, these results offer crucial insights into the potential benefits of incorporating CHAA and CHAB into the diets of Hungarian white goose. The findings indicate that such supplementations could significantly improve meat quality, regulate the immune system and shape the intestinal microbiota composition.