Frontiers in Microbiology (Aug 2023)

Effects of dietary L-Citrulline supplementation on growth performance, meat quality, and fecal microbial composition in finishing pigs

  • Junhua Du,
  • Junhua Du,
  • Mailin Gan,
  • Mailin Gan,
  • Zhongwei Xie,
  • Zhongwei Xie,
  • Chengpeng Zhou,
  • Chengpeng Zhou,
  • Yunhong Jing,
  • Yunhong Jing,
  • Menglin Li,
  • Menglin Li,
  • Chengming Liu,
  • Chengming Liu,
  • Meng Wang,
  • Meng Wang,
  • Haodong Dai,
  • Haodong Dai,
  • Zhiyang Huang,
  • Zhiyang Huang,
  • Lei Chen,
  • Lei Chen,
  • Ye Zhao,
  • Ye Zhao,
  • Lili Niu,
  • Lili Niu,
  • Yan Wang,
  • Yan Wang,
  • Shunhua Zhang,
  • Shunhua Zhang,
  • Zongyi Guo,
  • Linyuan Shen,
  • Linyuan Shen,
  • Li Zhu,
  • Li Zhu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1209389
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14

Abstract

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Gut microbiota play an important role in the gut ecology and development of pigs, which is always regulated by nutrients. This study investigated the effect of L-Citrulline on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and its potential regulatory mechanism. The results showed that 1% dietary L-Citrulline supplementation for 52 days significantly increased final weight, liveweight gain, carcass weight, and average backfat and markedly decreased drip loss (p < 0.05) of finishing pigs compared with the control group. Microbial analysis of fecal samples revealed a marked increase in α-diversity and significantly altered composition of gut microbiota in finishing pigs in response to L-Citrulline. In particular, these altered gut microbiota at the phylum and genus level may be mainly involved in the metabolic process of carbohydrate, energy, and amino acid, and exhibited a significant association with final weight, carcass weight, and backfat thickness. Taken together, our data revealed the potential role of L-Citrulline in the modulation of growth performance, carcass characteristics, and the meat quality of finishing pigs, which is most likely associated with gut microbiota.

Keywords