The experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with Puerarin on meat quality, muscle antioxidant ability, and muscle fiber characteristics of beef cattle under a hot environment in summer. Thirty-two 15 ± 1.5-month-old Jinjiang bulls (291.65 ± 8.84 kg) were randomly divided into four groups with dietary Puerarin at 0 (control), 200 (Pue200), 400 (Pue400), and 800 (Pue800) mg/kg in the feed concentrate (n = 8). The feeding trial lasted for 60 days after a 10-day adaptation period (July 1–September 8); the average values of temperature, relative humidity and temperature, and humidity index were 30.68°C, 68.05%, and 81.81, respectively. The growth performance on day 40 of the experiment period was calculated. After 60 days' experimental period, four Jinjiang cattle per treatment from the control group, Pue400 group, and Pue800 group were slaughtered. Compared with the control group, the Pue400 and Pue800 groups improved the growth performance of beef cattle; the Pue800 group elevated the activities of superoxide dismutase, total antioxidant capacity, and glutathione peroxidase in the M. longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle. In the control group, the cell membrane was incomplete, and most of the mitochondria were elongated and in a fission state, while in the Pue400 and Pue800 groups, the cell membrane was clear and complete, and the mitochondria presented with round and oval shapes. Compared with the control group, the Pue400 and Pue800 groups reduced the shear force of the LT muscle, and the Pue400 group decreased the muscle fiber diameter and the myosin heavy-chain (MyHC)-IIb gene expression. Furthermore, the Pue400 and Pue800 groups decreased the ratio of AMP/ATP, the Pue800 group reduced the AMP-activated protein kinase α2 mRNA expression, and the Pue400 group improved the nuclear respiratory factor 1 mRNA expression. These results indicated that dietary supplementation with Puerarin might be beneficial to the meat quality of heat-stressed beef cattle by improving muscle antioxidant ability and reducing the MyHC-IIb muscle fiber composition. Based on the results of this study, we recommended 400 mg/kg Puerarin in the feed concentrate of beef cattle (~300 kg) for mitigation of heat stress.
To investigate the effect of Puerarin on intramuscular fat deposition in heat-stressed beef cattle and its underlying mechanism. Thirty-two healthy Jinjiang bulls were randomly divided into four groups and dietary with 0 (Control), 200 (Pue200), 400 (Pue400), and 800 (Pue800) mg/kg Puerarin in the feed concentrate. The results showed that Puerarin treatment enhanced the concentration of crude fat, fatty acid (C14:1 and C17:1), and the activity of fatty acid synthase in Longissimus thoracis (LT), but decreased the levels of blood leptin (P < 0.05). High-throughput sequencing of mRNA technology (RNA-Seq) was used and the analysis showed that 492 genes were down-regulated and 341 genes were up-regulated in LT, and these genes were significantly enriched to the pathways related to lipid metabolism. These results indicated that dietary supplemental with Puerarin enhanced intramuscular fat deposition by regulating lipid metabolism of heat-stressed beef cattle.
Heat stress causes economic losses because of decreasing productive performance in beef cattle. Because the climate of the southeast China is gradually getting hotter and wetter, heat stress loss is also increasing, especially during summer (Liu et al., 2018). Moreover, heat stress enhances reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and induces oxidative stress, which can lead to poor beef quality (Scharf et al., 2010;Xing et al.,2019). Due to the negative impact of heat stress on cattle, some methods such as shade and spray, increasing dietary nutrient levels, and providing excess vitamins and mineral element are widely used to prevention of heat stress (Liu et al., 2016;Marchesini et al., 2018). Although, these methods have some good effect on relieving heat stress and bring more expensive for animal production. In addition, some chemical drugs such as sedative and antibiotics, which used to treat of heat stress syndrome, have been
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.