Exercise influences fatty acids in the longissimus dorsi muscle of Sunit lambs and improves dressing percentage by affecting digestion, absorption, and lipid metabolism

Abstract

The transition from grazing to captive rearing resulted in a significant decline in meat quality. To enhance the quality of meat from captive sheep, we examined the impact of exercise on Sunit lambs. The lambs, with similar body weight and aged 3 months underwent a 90-day period of thought-driven exercise. At the end of the exercise period, we collected colonic contents, epithelial tissues, and the longissimus dorsi muscle, and recorded slaughter performance. Exercise was found to have a significant impact on the content of short-chain fatty acids in the colon. Additionally, it generally reduced the mRNA expression of fatty acid absorption transporter genes in the colonic epithelium and lipid metabolism-related genes in the longissimus dorsi muscle. Furthermore, exercise significantly affected the content of fatty acids in the longissimus dorsi muscle of Sunit lambs, and increased its dressing percentage. Exercise influences the composition of fatty acids of the longissimus dorsi muscle and improves dressing percentage by affecting the digestion, absorption, and metabolism of lipids in Sunit lambs. This could be profitable for the livestock industry, and could alter the nutrition and flavor of lamb meat.