This study examined changes of rumen fermentation, ruminal bacteria biodiversity and abundance caused by nitrate addition with Ion Torrent sequencing and real-time polymerase chain reaction. Three rumen-fistulated steers were fed diets supplemented with 0%, 1%, and 2% nitrate (dry matter %) in succession. Nitrate supplementation linearly increased total volatile fatty acids and acetate concentration obviously (p = 0.02; p = 0.02; p<0.01), butyrate and isovalerate concentration numerically (p = 0.07). The alpha (p>0.05) and beta biodiversity of ruminal bacteria were not affected by nitrate. Nitrate increased typical efficient cellulolytic bacteria species (Ruminococcus flavefaciens, Ruminococcus ablus, and Fibrobacter succinogenes) (p<0.01; p = 0.06; p = 0.02). Ruminobactr, Sphaerochaeta, CF231, and BF311 genus were increased by 1% nitrate. Campylobacter fetus, Selenomonas ruminantium, and Mannheimia succiniciproducens were core nitrate reducing bacteria in steers and their abundance increased linearly along with nitrate addition level (p<0.01; p = 0.02; p = 0.04). Potential nitrate reducers in the rumen, Campylobacter genus and Cyanobacteria phyla were significantly increased by nitrate (p<0.01; p = 0.01). To the best of our knowledge, this was the first detailed view of changes in ruminal microbiota by nitrate. This finding would provide useful information on nitrate utilization and nitrate reducer exploration in the rumen.

The aim of this study was to assess the ability of electronic tongue system TS-5000Z to evaluate meat quality based on flavor assessment, recognition and correlation with the meat chemical composition. Meat was sampled from eighteen beef cattle including 6 Wagyu breed cattle, 6 Angus breed cattle and 6 Simmental breed cattle. Chemical composition including dry matter, crude protein, fat, ash, cholesterol and taurine and flavor of the meat were measured. The results showed that different breed cattle had different chemical compositions and flavor, which contains sourness, umami, saltiness, bitterness, astringency, aftertaste from astringency, aftertaste from bitterness and aftertaste from umami, respectively. A principal component analysis (PCA) showed an easily visible separation between different breeds of cattle and indicated that TS-5000Z made a rapid identification of different breeds of cattle. In addition, TS-5000Z seemed to be used to predict the chemical composition according to its correlation with the flavor. In conclusion, TS-5000Z would be used as a rapid analytical tool to evaluate the beef quality both qualitatively and quantitatively, based on flavor assessment, recognition and chemical composition according to its correlation with flavor.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a multi-component and multi-target agent and could treat complex diseases in a holistic way, especially infection diseases. However, the underlying pharmacology remains unclear. Fortunately, network pharmacology by integrating system biology and polypharmacology provides a strategy to address this issue. In this work, Reduning Injection (RDN), a well-used TCM treatment in the clinic for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), was investigated to interpret the molecular mechanism and predict new clinical directions by integrating molecular docking, network analysis and cell-based assays. 32 active ingredients and 38 potential targets were identified. In vitro experiments confirmed the bioactivities of the compounds against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated PGE2 and NO production in RAW264.7 cells. Moreover, network analysis showed that RDN could not only inhibit viral replication but also alleviate the sickness symptoms of URTIs through directly targeting the key proteins in the respiratory viral life cycle and indirectly regulating host immune systems. In addition, other clinical applications of RDN such as neoplasms, cardiovascular diseases and immune system diseases were predicted on the basis of the relationships between targets and diseases.

The study investigated the effects of mulberry leaf extracts (MLE) on the color, lipid oxidation, antioxidant enzyme activities and oxidative breakdown products of raw ground beef during refrigerated storage. The five treatments were: MLE at 0, 100, 500 and 1,000 lg/g muscle (C, low concentration mulberry leaves extracts (LM), medium concentration mulberry leaves extracts (MM) and high concentration mulberry leaves extracts (HM)) and positive control with 20 lg Vitamin E/g muscle (VE). MLE maintained color, reduced peroxide and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances values during storage (P < 0.05) with no effect on free thiol. MLE increased activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase at 312 h (P < 0.05). There were more phospholipids from the HM treatment than the control group (P < 0.05); unsaturated fatty acids and reducing sugars in the VE group were higher than the C group (P < 0.05). The results indicated that MLE could better use as natural antioxidants to maintain the meat quality, extend shelf-life and prevent economic loss for food processing industry. In addition, one interesting finding was that the antioxidant mechanism of MLE was different comparing to VE during the different stages of lipid oxidation, which MLE worked at the first step and VE protected the second step when phospholipid was decomposed into unsaturated fatty acids. Therefore, we could conclude that it would be better to combine the MLE and VE to protect the meat quality during refrigerated storage. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSMulberry leaves were rich in alkaloids, polyphenols, flavonoids and anthocyanins, which could be responsible for health benefits as well as herbal medicine for many years in various cultures. Some studies had found that MLE had the antioxidant activities. However, scientific information about the antioxidant properties of MLE in meat and their influence on meat quality is still scarce. The results indicate that MLE have the antioxidant activity, helping maintain the meat color, inhibiting lipid oxidant and enhancing antioxidant enzyme activity. In addition, the antioxidant mechanism of MLE protected phospholipids from oxidation and VE mainly protected the unsaturated fatty acids and reducing sugars. This research explains the antioxidant mechanism of MLE could better use as natural antioxidants to maintain the meat quality, extend shelf-life and prevent economic loss for food processing industry.

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Gastrointestinal microbiota has significant impact on the nutrition and health of monogastric herbivores animals including donkey. However, so far the microbiota in different gastrointestinal compartments of healthy donkey has not been described. Therefore, we investigated the abundance and function of microbiota at different sites of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) (foregut: stomach, duodenum, jejunum and ileum; hindgut: cecum, ventral colon, dorsal colon, and rectum) of healthy adult donkeys mainly based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phylogenetic investigation of communities by reconstruction of unobserved states (PICRUSt) analysis. Collectively, our results showed that donkey has a rich, diverse and multi-functional microbiota along the GIT. In general, the richness and diversity of the microbiota are much higher in the hindgut relative to that in the foregut; at phylum level, the Firmicutes is dominant in the foregut while both Firmicutes and Bacteroides are abundant in the hindgut; at the genus level, Lactobacillus was dominant in the foregut while Streptococcus was more dominant in the hindgut. Our further PICRUSt analysis showed that varying microbiota along the GIT is functionally compatible with the corresponding physiological function of different GIT sites. For example, the microbes in the foregut are more active at carbohydrate metabolism, and in the hindgut are more active at amino acid metabolism. This work at the first time characterized the donkey digestive system from the aspects of microbial composition and function, provided an important basic data about donkey healthy gastrointestinal microbiota, which may be utilized to evaluate donkey health and also offer clues to further investigate donkey digestive system, nutrition, even to develop the microbial supplements.

The intestinal microbiota plays an important role in the health and metabolism of the host. Next‐generation sequencing technology has enabled the characterization of the gut microbiota of several animal species. We analyzed the intestinal microbiota in six different parts of the gastrointestinal tracts (GITs) of five Mongolian horses by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene V3‐V4 hypervariable region. All horses were kept in the natural habitat of the Inner Mongolia grassland. Significant differences were observed among the microbiota compositions of the distinct GIT regions. In addition, while the microbial community structures of the small and large intestine were significantly different, those of the cecum and colon were similar. In the foregut, Firmicutes (65%) and Proteobacteria (23%) were the most abundant, while Firmicutes (45%) and Bacteroidetes (42%) were the most common in the hindgut. At the level of family, Ruminococcaceae (p = .203), Lachnospiraceae (p = .157), Rikenellaceae (p = .122), and Prevotellaceae (p = .068) were predominant in the hindgut, while the relative abundance of the Akkermansia genus (5.7%, p = .039) was higher in the ventral colon. In terms of the putative functions, the ratio of microbial abundance in the different parts of the GIT was similar, the result can help characterize the gut microbial structure of different animals.

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