Melatonin Promotes Muscle Growth and Redirects Fat Deposition in Cashmere Goats via Gut Microbiota Modulation and Enhanced Antioxidant Capacity
Liaoning cashmere goats is a dual-purpose breed valued for premium cashmere fiber and meat yields, and there is currently a lack of optimized strategies for meat quality, including skeletal muscle development and lipid partitioning. This investigation systematically examines how melatonin administra...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | Antioxidants |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/14/6/645 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849435122563022848 |
|---|---|
| author | Di Han Zibin Zheng Zhenyu Su Xianliu Wang Shiwei Ding Chunyan Wang Liwen He Wei Zhang |
| author_facet | Di Han Zibin Zheng Zhenyu Su Xianliu Wang Shiwei Ding Chunyan Wang Liwen He Wei Zhang |
| author_sort | Di Han |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Liaoning cashmere goats is a dual-purpose breed valued for premium cashmere fiber and meat yields, and there is currently a lack of optimized strategies for meat quality, including skeletal muscle development and lipid partitioning. This investigation systematically examines how melatonin administration modulates gastrointestinal microbiota and antioxidant capacity to concurrently enhance skeletal muscle hypertrophy and redirect lipid deposition patterns, ultimately improving meat quality and carcass traits in Liaoning cashmere goats. Thirty female half-sibling kids were randomized into control and melatonin-treated groups (2 mg/kg live weight with subcutaneous implants). Postmortem analyses at 8 months assessed carcass traits, meat quality, muscle histology, plasma metabolites, and gut microbiota (16S rRNA sequencing). Melatonin supplementation decreased visceral adiposity (perirenal, omental, and mesenteric fat depots with a <i>p</i> < 0.05) while inducing muscle fiber hypertrophy (<i>longissimus thoracis et lumborum</i> (LTL) and biceps femoris (BF) with <i>p</i> < 0.05). The melatonin-treated group demonstrated elevated postmortem pH<sub>24</sub>h values, attenuated muscle drip loss, enhanced intramuscular protein deposition, and improved systemic antioxidant status (characterized by increased catalase and glutathione levels with concomitant reduction in malondialdehyde with <i>p</i> < 0.05). Melatonin reshaped gut microbiota, increasing α-diversity (<i>p</i> < 0.05) and enriching beneficial genera (<i>Prevotella</i>, <i>Romboutsia</i>, and <i>Akkermansia</i>), while suppressing lipogenic <i>Desulfovibrio</i> populations, and concomitant with improved intestinal morphology as evidenced by elevated villus height-to-crypt depth ratios. These findings establish that melatonin-mediated gastrointestinal microbiota remodeling drives anabolic muscle protein synthesis while optimizing fat deposition, providing a scientifically grounded strategy to enhance meat quality. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7d654028dcfb47cca9c428e1ad3dbb54 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-3921 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Antioxidants |
| spelling | doaj-art-7d654028dcfb47cca9c428e1ad3dbb542025-08-20T03:26:25ZengMDPI AGAntioxidants2076-39212025-05-0114664510.3390/antiox14060645Melatonin Promotes Muscle Growth and Redirects Fat Deposition in Cashmere Goats via Gut Microbiota Modulation and Enhanced Antioxidant CapacityDi Han0Zibin Zheng1Zhenyu Su2Xianliu Wang3Shiwei Ding4Chunyan Wang5Liwen He6Wei Zhang7State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaLiaoning Agricultural and Rural Development Service Center, Shenyang 111000, ChinaLiaoning Agricultural and Rural Development Service Center, Shenyang 111000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaLiaoning cashmere goats is a dual-purpose breed valued for premium cashmere fiber and meat yields, and there is currently a lack of optimized strategies for meat quality, including skeletal muscle development and lipid partitioning. This investigation systematically examines how melatonin administration modulates gastrointestinal microbiota and antioxidant capacity to concurrently enhance skeletal muscle hypertrophy and redirect lipid deposition patterns, ultimately improving meat quality and carcass traits in Liaoning cashmere goats. Thirty female half-sibling kids were randomized into control and melatonin-treated groups (2 mg/kg live weight with subcutaneous implants). Postmortem analyses at 8 months assessed carcass traits, meat quality, muscle histology, plasma metabolites, and gut microbiota (16S rRNA sequencing). Melatonin supplementation decreased visceral adiposity (perirenal, omental, and mesenteric fat depots with a <i>p</i> < 0.05) while inducing muscle fiber hypertrophy (<i>longissimus thoracis et lumborum</i> (LTL) and biceps femoris (BF) with <i>p</i> < 0.05). The melatonin-treated group demonstrated elevated postmortem pH<sub>24</sub>h values, attenuated muscle drip loss, enhanced intramuscular protein deposition, and improved systemic antioxidant status (characterized by increased catalase and glutathione levels with concomitant reduction in malondialdehyde with <i>p</i> < 0.05). Melatonin reshaped gut microbiota, increasing α-diversity (<i>p</i> < 0.05) and enriching beneficial genera (<i>Prevotella</i>, <i>Romboutsia</i>, and <i>Akkermansia</i>), while suppressing lipogenic <i>Desulfovibrio</i> populations, and concomitant with improved intestinal morphology as evidenced by elevated villus height-to-crypt depth ratios. These findings establish that melatonin-mediated gastrointestinal microbiota remodeling drives anabolic muscle protein synthesis while optimizing fat deposition, providing a scientifically grounded strategy to enhance meat quality.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/14/6/645skeletal muscle hypertrophylipid partitioningantioxidant enzymesgastrointestinal microbiotameat quality |
| spellingShingle | Di Han Zibin Zheng Zhenyu Su Xianliu Wang Shiwei Ding Chunyan Wang Liwen He Wei Zhang Melatonin Promotes Muscle Growth and Redirects Fat Deposition in Cashmere Goats via Gut Microbiota Modulation and Enhanced Antioxidant Capacity Antioxidants skeletal muscle hypertrophy lipid partitioning antioxidant enzymes gastrointestinal microbiota meat quality |
| title | Melatonin Promotes Muscle Growth and Redirects Fat Deposition in Cashmere Goats via Gut Microbiota Modulation and Enhanced Antioxidant Capacity |
| title_full | Melatonin Promotes Muscle Growth and Redirects Fat Deposition in Cashmere Goats via Gut Microbiota Modulation and Enhanced Antioxidant Capacity |
| title_fullStr | Melatonin Promotes Muscle Growth and Redirects Fat Deposition in Cashmere Goats via Gut Microbiota Modulation and Enhanced Antioxidant Capacity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Melatonin Promotes Muscle Growth and Redirects Fat Deposition in Cashmere Goats via Gut Microbiota Modulation and Enhanced Antioxidant Capacity |
| title_short | Melatonin Promotes Muscle Growth and Redirects Fat Deposition in Cashmere Goats via Gut Microbiota Modulation and Enhanced Antioxidant Capacity |
| title_sort | melatonin promotes muscle growth and redirects fat deposition in cashmere goats via gut microbiota modulation and enhanced antioxidant capacity |
| topic | skeletal muscle hypertrophy lipid partitioning antioxidant enzymes gastrointestinal microbiota meat quality |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/14/6/645 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dihan melatoninpromotesmusclegrowthandredirectsfatdepositionincashmeregoatsviagutmicrobiotamodulationandenhancedantioxidantcapacity AT zibinzheng melatoninpromotesmusclegrowthandredirectsfatdepositionincashmeregoatsviagutmicrobiotamodulationandenhancedantioxidantcapacity AT zhenyusu melatoninpromotesmusclegrowthandredirectsfatdepositionincashmeregoatsviagutmicrobiotamodulationandenhancedantioxidantcapacity AT xianliuwang melatoninpromotesmusclegrowthandredirectsfatdepositionincashmeregoatsviagutmicrobiotamodulationandenhancedantioxidantcapacity AT shiweiding melatoninpromotesmusclegrowthandredirectsfatdepositionincashmeregoatsviagutmicrobiotamodulationandenhancedantioxidantcapacity AT chunyanwang melatoninpromotesmusclegrowthandredirectsfatdepositionincashmeregoatsviagutmicrobiotamodulationandenhancedantioxidantcapacity AT liwenhe melatoninpromotesmusclegrowthandredirectsfatdepositionincashmeregoatsviagutmicrobiotamodulationandenhancedantioxidantcapacity AT weizhang melatoninpromotesmusclegrowthandredirectsfatdepositionincashmeregoatsviagutmicrobiotamodulationandenhancedantioxidantcapacity |