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Dietary Fermented Chinese Chive Juice Improves Growth Performance and Reshapes the Fresh Meat Volatile Flavor Profile of Small-Tailed Han Sheep
by
,
Ping Sheng
*
,
Kaimin Niu
,
Li He
,
Chunxia Mao
,
Shaoshi Ji
,
Bingbing Huang
,
Dongsheng Wang
and
Chunhua Yang
Institute of Biological Manufacturing, Jiangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanchang 330096, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Animals 2026, 16(10), 1521; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16101521
Submission received: 17 April 2026
/
Revised: 9 May 2026
/
Accepted: 13 May 2026
/
Published: 15 May 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovations in Sustainable Animal Nutrition: From Feed Evaluation to Precision Feeding)
Simple Summary
Natural feed additives are receiving increasing attention as alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters in animal production. Chinese chive is a rich source of bioactive compounds, and fermentation may further improve its nutritional and functional properties. However, its application in sheep production has rarely been studied. In this study, fermented Chinese chive juice was supplemented in the diet of Small-Tailed Han sheep to evaluate its effects on growth performance, blood parameters, meat quality, and fresh meat volatile compounds. The results showed that fermented Chinese chive juice modestly improved average weight gain and average daily gain, while having limited effects on most conventional meat quality traits. It also changed some serum metabolic indicators and, importantly, altered the volatile compound profile of fresh sheep meat. Meat from the supplemented group showed increased levels of several aroma-related volatile compounds, particularly those associated with green and apple-like notes. Therefore, these findings indicate that fermented Chinese chive juice may have potential as a natural feed additive in sheep, but its effects on meat flavor require validation using larger slaughter sample sizes and direct sensory evaluation.
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of fermented Chinese chive (FCC) juice supplementation on growth performance, blood parameters, meat quality, and fresh meat volatile compounds in Small-Tailed Han sheep. Sixty sheep were randomly assigned to a control group (CG; basal diet) or an FCC juice treatment group (TG; basal diet supplemented with 1.0 mL/kg feed offered on an as-fed basis), with three pens per treatment and 10 sheep per pen. FCC juice significantly increased average weight gain (AWG) and average daily gain (ADG) (p < 0.05), whereas carcass traits were not significantly affected (p > 0.05). Most meat quality traits, antioxidant indices, and serum biochemical parameters were unchanged, although serum glucose (GLU) and cholesterol (CHO) decreased in the FCC juice treatment group (p < 0.05). GC × GC-TOF/MS analysis showed that FCC juice altered the volatile profile of fresh sheep meat. Compared with the control group, the FCC juice treatment group showed higher relative contents of aldehydes, ketones, and heterocyclic compounds, but lower contents of hydrocarbons and acids. Seventeen differential volatile compounds were identified using VIP > 1 and FDR-adjusted p < 0.05, with esters representing the major upregulated class. Based on the published odor descriptors of the identified volatile compounds, the FCC juice treatment group showed stronger green and apple-like aroma-associated characteristics. Overall, FCC juice showed a modest positive effect on growth performance and altered the volatile compound profile of fresh sheep meat; however, flavor-related findings should be regarded as preliminary because of the limited slaughter sample size and the absence of direct sensory validation.
