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Effects of Plant Extracts on Meat Quality, Intestinal Microbiota and...
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Effects of Plant Extracts on Meat Quality, Intestinal Microbiota and Resistance to Diseases and Stresses of Food Animals

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 5782

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Shengchen Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
Interests: animal nutrition; molecular biology; bioinformatics; antioxidant; metabolism
Dr. Yun Hu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
Interests: nutritional physiology; metabolism; anti-stress; epigenetic modification; transcriptional regulation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Under the background of the complete prohibition of feed antibiotic additives in many countries and regions, including China, the United States, and Europe, the research and development of efficient new green feed additives with plant extracts and their ability to deal with various problems in livestock and poultry breeding have gradually become one of the focuses of animal science research.

In this Special Issue, we will collect research articles, commentary, reviews, and case studies on the effects of plant extracts on meat quality, intestinal flora, resistance to disease, and stress in edible animals, so as to highlight the current knowledge and future directions in this field.

Dr. Shengchen Wang
Dr. Yun Hu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • plant extracts
  • feed additives
  • meat quality
  • intestinal
  • microbiota
  • disease resistance
  • stress
  • food animals

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 222 KiB  
Article
Effects of Low-Protein Diet Without Soybean Meal on Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, Plasma Free Amino Acids, and Meat Quality of Finishing Pigs
by Bobo Deng, Litong Wang, Xiaomei Jiang, Tianyong Zhang, Mingfei Zhu, Guoshui Wang, Yizhen Wang and Yuanzhi Cheng
Animals 2025, 15(6), 828; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15060828 - 13 Mar 2025
Viewed by 606
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of a low-protein diet without soybean meal on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, plasma-free amino acids, and meat quality of finishing pigs. A total of 81 barrows and 81 gilts ([Yorkshire × Landrace] × Duroc) of 150 days [...] Read more.
This study investigated the effects of a low-protein diet without soybean meal on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, plasma-free amino acids, and meat quality of finishing pigs. A total of 81 barrows and 81 gilts ([Yorkshire × Landrace] × Duroc) of 150 days old with similar body weights (103.64 ± 3.65 kg) were selected and randomly allocated into three groups with three replicates in each group and 18 finishing pigs in each pen (4.5 m × 8.5 m). Three dietary formulations were established in this experiment: (1) 14% crude protein, and 14% soybean meal for the control group diet (CON); (2) 13% crude protein, and 7% soybean meal for half soybean meal group diet (HSB); (3) 12% crude protein, and 0% soybean meal for soybean meal free group diet (SBF). Three groups of diets were equal to standard ileal digestible amino acids and swine net energy. Results showed that (1) there was no significant difference in final body weight, average daily feed intake, and average daily gain in CON, HSB, and SBF groups (p > 0.05). However, the feed conversion rate was higher in the SBF but the differences were not significant (p = 0.08). (2) Compared with the CON group, the apparent digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, and calcium in the SBF group was significantly increased by 6.42%, 4.78%, and 9.82%, respectively (p < 0.05). However, ether extract and phosphorus did not differ significantly between the three groups (p > 0.05). All groups had no significant differences in serum biochemical indexes (p > 0.05). (3) Compared with the CON group, the plasma-free contents of glycine and glutamate in the HSB and SBF groups were significantly decreased by 42.90% and 37.06%, respectively (p < 0.05). Compared with the CON group, the contents of plasma-free histidine and valine in the SBF group were significantly decreased by 16.72% and 16.21%, respectively (p < 0.05), but there was no significant difference compared with the HSB group (p > 0.05). Compared with the CON group, plasma-free isoleucine content in the HSB group was significantly decreased by 50.39% (p < 0.05), but there was no significant difference compared with the SBF group (p > 0.05). (4) Backfat thickness in the SBF group was significantly increased by 3.53% compared with that in the CON group (p < 0.05), but there was no significant difference compared with the HSB group (p > 0.05). Compared with the CON group, lean meat percentage in the HSB and SBF groups showed a tendency to increase and decrease, respectively (p = 0.09). (5) The urine ammonia-nitrogen content of finishing pigs in the SBF group was significantly lower than that of the CON (p < 0.05), at a rate of 28.80%. H2S content in the urine of the SBF group tended to decrease (p = 0.06). This study demonstrates that a low-protein diet without soybean meal can be applied as a dietary strategy for finishing pigs with no adverse influence on growth performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Plant Extracts on Meat Quality, Intestinal Microbiota and Resistance to Diseases and Stresses of Food Animals)
17 pages, 5408 KiB  
Article
Glycyrrhizin Alleviates the Damage Caused by Zearalenone and Protects the Glandular Stomach of Chickens
by Tong Sun, Fuhan Wang, Man Qian, Jingjing Wang and Mengyao Guo
Animals 2025, 15(4), 489; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15040489 - 9 Feb 2025
Viewed by 599
Abstract
Zearalenone (ZEA) is a kind of mycotoxin that widely contaminates food and feed and poses a threat to poultry farming. As a natural extract, glycyrrhizin acid (GA) has antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory effects. Although studies have revealed the toxic effects of ZEA on [...] Read more.
Zearalenone (ZEA) is a kind of mycotoxin that widely contaminates food and feed and poses a threat to poultry farming. As a natural extract, glycyrrhizin acid (GA) has antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory effects. Although studies have revealed the toxic effects of ZEA on the liver, the mechanism by which GA reduces ZEA’s toxic protective glandular stomach remains unclear. In order to study the therapeutic effect of GA on tissue damage caused by ZEA, we conducted in vivo and in vitro experiments to compare the expression of inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and necrosis. The results showed that ZEA can induce inflammation in tissues and cells, inducing apoptosis and necrosis. In addition, GA can alleviate the toxic effects caused by ZEA and protect cells. Dietary GA significantly increased the antioxidant capacity of glandulae and inhibited the overexpression of NFκB/IκB-α and its mediated inflammatory response. Moreover, GA decreased the expression of pro-apoptotic factors and necrosis factors, thereby alleviating apoptosis and necrosis of chicken glandular stomach cells. At present, the mechanism of ZEA damage to livers and lungs has been confirmed by studies. However, there have been no studies on GA alleviating the damage caused by ZEA to the glandular stomach. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the mechanism of GA alleviating the damage caused by ZEA in the glandular stomach through in vivo and in vitro experimental comparison. The results may provide some reference for the solution of feed contamination. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Plant Extracts on Meat Quality, Intestinal Microbiota and Resistance to Diseases and Stresses of Food Animals)
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12 pages, 2968 KiB  
Article
Tea Polyphenol Protects the Immune Barrier and Inhibits TLR2/NF-κB/MLCK Signal Activation to Prevent Inflammatory Injury in the Intestines of Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio L.)
by Man Qian, Jie Yang, Yao Xue, Jiawei Wu, Ziyi Li, Jilong Luo, Bing Zhao and Xuejiao Gao
Animals 2025, 15(3), 387; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15030387 - 30 Jan 2025
Viewed by 1165
Abstract
Tea polyphenol (TP) is a kind of natural macromolecular compound present in tea extract with rich biological potential. The purpose of this study was to explore the protective effect of TP on the intestinal immune barrier and the related mechanisms of TP alleviating [...] Read more.
Tea polyphenol (TP) is a kind of natural macromolecular compound present in tea extract with rich biological potential. The purpose of this study was to explore the protective effect of TP on the intestinal immune barrier and the related mechanisms of TP alleviating intestinal injury. Models of common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) and primary intestinal epithelial cells treated with TP and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were established. The qPCR and ELISA results showed that TP increased the levels of lysozyme (LZ), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), complement component 3 (C3), complement component 4 (C4), immunoglobulin T (IgT), immunoglobulin D (IgD), and immunoglobulin M (IgM) to activate intestinal immune ability. Molecular docking indicated that TP had a strong interaction with TLR2. Meanwhile, TP alleviated LPS-induced intestinal inflammatory damage as evidenced by reducing the mRNA levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, TLR2, MyD88, P65, and IκBα, which were consistent with those of ELISA and Western blotting results. Moreover, the qPCR and Western blotting results revealed TP promoted the levels of tight junction-related proteins (claudins, occludin, and ZOs) and inhibited the phosphorylation of MLC, which showed the opposite trend after LPS treatment. In summary, the present study indicated that TP improved immune ability and inhibited the activation of the TLR2/NF-κB/MLCK pathway to attenuate LPS-induced inflammatory injury in the intestines of common carp. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Plant Extracts on Meat Quality, Intestinal Microbiota and Resistance to Diseases and Stresses of Food Animals)
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14 pages, 4039 KiB  
Article
The Adaptive Alternation of Intestinal Microbiota and Regulation of Host Genes Jointly Promote Pigs to Digest Appropriate High-Fiber Diets
by Yunchao Zhang, Hui Li, Bengao Li, Jiayi He, Chen Peng, Yanshe Xie, Guiqing Huang, Pengju Zhao and Zhengguang Wang
Animals 2024, 14(14), 2076; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14142076 - 16 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1575
Abstract
Although studies have revealed the significant impact of dietary fiber on growth performance and nutrient digestibility, the specific characteristics of the intestinal microbiota and gene regulation in pigs capable of digesting high-fiber diets remained unclear. To investigate the traits associated with roughage tolerance [...] Read more.
Although studies have revealed the significant impact of dietary fiber on growth performance and nutrient digestibility, the specific characteristics of the intestinal microbiota and gene regulation in pigs capable of digesting high-fiber diets remained unclear. To investigate the traits associated with roughage tolerance in the Chinese indigenous pig breed, we conducted comparative analysis of growth performance, apparent fiber digestibility, intestinal microbiota, SCFA concentrations and intestinal transcriptome in Tunchang pigs, feeding them diets with different wheat bran levels. The results indicated that the growth performance of Tunchang pigs was not significantly impacted, and the apparent total tract digestibility of crude fiber was significantly improved with increasing dietary fiber content. High-fiber diets altered the diversity of intestinal microbiota, and increased the relative abundance of Prevotella, CF231, as well as the concentrations of isobutyrate, valerate and isovalerate. The LDA analysis identified potential microbial biomarkers that could be associated with roughage tolerance, such as Prevotella stercorea, and Eubacterium biforme. In addition, appropriate high-fiber diets containing 4.34% crude fiber upregulated the mRNA expressions of PYY, AQP8, and SLC5A8, while downregulating the mRNA expressions of CKM and CNN1.This indicated that appropriate high-fiber diets may inhibit intestine motility and increase the absorption of water and SCFAs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Plant Extracts on Meat Quality, Intestinal Microbiota and Resistance to Diseases and Stresses of Food Animals)
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Review

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11 pages, 1191 KiB  
Review
Regulation Progression on Ellagic Acid Improving Poultry Production Performance by Regulating Redox Homeostasis, Inflammatory Response, and Cell Apoptosis
by Shengchen Wang, Wenjun Zhang, Bing Tian, Yun Hu, Tingting Li, Xiaoyan Cui, Liyang Zhang and Xugang Luo
Animals 2024, 14(20), 3009; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14203009 - 17 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1140
Abstract
It has been approximately 2000 years since the medicinal homologous theory, which primarily holds that food has the same therapeutic value as medicine in order to improve the health of both humans and animals. In recent years, this theory has also been proposed [...] Read more.
It has been approximately 2000 years since the medicinal homologous theory, which primarily holds that food has the same therapeutic value as medicine in order to improve the health of both humans and animals. In recent years, this theory has also been proposed to be used in poultry breeding. Ellagic acid (EA), a natural compound primarily extracted from medicinal homologous foods such as raspberries and pomegranates, is reported to have incomparable advantages in improving the production performance and disease resistance of poultry due to its pharmacological properties, which regulate the processes of redox homeostasis, inflammatory response, and cell apoptotic death. However, the application and research of EA in poultry production are still in the initial stage, and the potential mechanisms of its biological functions affecting animal health have not been clearly identified, which requires more attention worldwide. This mini-review collects the latest 10-year achievements of research on the effects of EA on poultry health, aiming to promote the practical application of EA in maintaining animal health and formulating corresponding targeted strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Plant Extracts on Meat Quality, Intestinal Microbiota and Resistance to Diseases and Stresses of Food Animals)
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