Huang Yongliang, Lei Yu, Shi Jinping, Liu Wangjing, Zhang Xiao, He Pengjia, Ma Yue, Zhang Xu, Cao Yongzhi, Cheng Qiang, Zhang Zhao, Lei Zhaomin
College of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China.
Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China.
J Sci Food Agric. 2025 Mar 30;105(5):3097-3110. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.14099. Epub 2025 Jan 17.
Dietary supplementation for beef cattle, using natural plant extracts, such as oregano essential oil (OEO), has proven effective in enhancing growth performance, beef production quantity and quality, and ensuring food safety. However, the precise mechanisms underlying these effects remain unclear. This study investigated the impact of OEO on carcass traits, muscle fiber structure, meat quality, oxidative status, flavor compounds, and gene regulatory mechanisms in the longissimus thoracis (LT) muscles of beef cattle. Eighteen steers were randomly assigned to two groups (n = 9 per group) and fed either a control diet (CK) or the same diet supplemented with 20 g of OEO per head per day for 300 days.
Oregano essential oil supplementation improved the body weight, carcass weight, meat production, area and diameter of fiber, ether extract, and water-holding power of muscle. Increasing catalase (CAT), peroxidases (POD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and by decreasing lipid droplets (LDs) reduced muscle lipid oxidation. However, the color (L*, a*, b*, C* and H°) and the flavor compounds of muscle were affected adversely by OEO. The transcriptome and metabolome indicated the OEO group enriched fat synthesis, proteo-metabolism, antioxidants, and growth significantly. Five key genes (SH2B2, CD209, LOC504773, C1QC, and HMOX) and ten downregulated metabolites (deoxyguanosine, d-melezitose, maltotriose, raffinose, melatonin, quinic acid, orotic acid, hydrocinnamic acid, 2-methylsuccinic acid, and pyridoxal 5'-phosphate) were identified as key biomarkers. These interacted to positively influence the growth, oxidative status, and meat quality of steers positively.
These findings suggest that OEO, as a natural bioactive compound, can serve as an additive for beef cattle, with a daily dose of 20 g per steer improving growth and meat quality, although it may affect muscle color and flavor negatively. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.
使用牛至精油（OEO）等天然植物提取物对肉牛进行日粮补充，已被证明能有效提高生长性能、牛肉产量和质量，并确保食品安全。然而，这些作用背后的确切机制仍不清楚。本研究调查了OEO对肉牛胸最长肌（LT）的胴体性状、肌纤维结构、肉质、氧化状态、风味化合物和基因调控机制的影响。18头阉牛被随机分为两组（每组n = 9），分别饲喂对照日粮（CK）或在相同日粮基础上每天每头添加20 g OEO，持续300天。
补充牛至精油提高了体重、胴体重、产肉量、纤维面积和直径、肌肉的乙醚提取物以及持水力。通过增加过氧化氢酶（CAT）、过氧化物酶（POD）、谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶（GSH-Px）以及减少脂滴（LDs）降低了肌肉脂质氧化。然而，OEO对肌肉的颜色（L*、a*、b*、C*和H°）和风味化合物有不利影响。转录组和代谢组表明，OEO组在脂肪合成、蛋白质代谢、抗氧化剂和生长方面显著富集。确定了五个关键基因（SH2B2、CD209、LOC504773、C1QC和HMOX）和十种下调代谢物（脱氧鸟苷、d-松三糖、麦芽三糖、棉子糖、褪黑素、奎尼酸、乳清酸、氢化肉桂酸、2-甲基琥珀酸和吡哆醛5'-磷酸）作为关键生物标志物。这些相互作用对阉牛的生长、氧化状态和肉质产生了积极影响。
这些发现表明，OEO作为一种天然生物活性化合物，可作为肉牛的添加剂，每头阉牛每天20 g的剂量可提高生长性能和肉质，尽管它可能对肌肉颜色和风味有负面影响。© 2025化学工业协会。
