Enriching meat with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) is of considerable nutritional interest because of the well-documented cardioprotective and anti-inflammatory properties of these fatty acids in the human diet. This study investigated the potential effects of dietary Artemisia ordosica Krasch (ARI) supplementation on muscle n-3 PUFA deposition in Albas White Cashmere goats, possibly mediated through the regulation of antioxidant capacity, lipid oxidation, and metabolism. Under the present experimental conditions, ARI supplementation did not significantly affect growth performance, but significantly reduced ruminal C18:0 content (p < 0.05) and increased n-3 PUFA levels (C18:3n3, C22:6n3) in rumen fluid, plasma, liver, and Longissimus dorsi, and the consequent elevation of the muscle PUFA-to-saturated fatty acid ratio (P/S; p < 0.05). Concurrently, ARI supplementation enhanced ruminal and systemic antioxidant capacity, as evidenced by increased glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, elevated total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), and upregulated expression of antioxidant-related genes (GSR, GOR, SOD2). Integrated multi-omics analyses revealed that these improvements may be associated with the reduced relative abundance of the core biohydrogenating bacterium s_Butyrivibrio_fibrisolvens and de novo saturated fatty acid synthesis, and potential involvement of the AMPK signaling pathway, with downregulation of FASN; coordinated upregulation of CD36, ACSL3/4, and ELOVL6/7; and upregulation of PPARGC1A, collectively suggesting a promotion of FA oxidation and n-3 PUFA deposition. Collectively, these findings suggest that ARI-promoted n-3 PUFA enrichment in goat meat may be associated with the coordinated modulation of ruminal biohydrogenation, systemic antioxidant capacity, and intermediary lipid metabolism, providing a potential nutritional strategy for developing functional cashmere goat meat.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of varying dietary energy levels on milk production, feed intake, nutrient digestion and metabolism, and antioxidation function of lactating donkeys, and integrating 16S rRNA gene sequencing, metabolomics, and proteomics to comprehensively reveal the underlying regulatory networks. A single-factor, completely randomized design was used in this study. Twenty-four Dezhou donkeys with similar milk yield (3.25 ± 0.46 kg/d), lactation days (29 ± 4.34 d), parities (4.17 ± 1.17), and body weight (256 ± 34 kg) were randomly divided into three dietary treatments (n = 8), and either a fed high-energy diet (DE = 13.1 MJ/kg, HED), medium-energy diet (DE = 12.4 MJ/kg, MED), and low-energy diet (DE = 11.7 MJ/kg, LED). The experiment period included 2 weeks for adaptation and 8 weeks for data and sample collection. Orthogonal polynomial contrasts were used to evaluate the linear and quadratic effects of increasing dietary energy. There were no significant interaction effects between dietary energy level and lactation week on any milk production and quality variables (p > 0.05). Increasing dietary energy level increased DMI, milk production, milk production efficiency, and milk components (linear and quadratic; p < 0.05). Increasing dietary energy improved the digestibility of DM and neutral detergent fiber (linear; p < 0.05), and crude protein digestibility, energy digestibility and metabolism, and nitrogen metabolism (quadratic; p < 0.05). However, it decreased BHBA and NEFA concentrations (linear; p < 0.05). Furthermore, increasing dietary energy first increased then decreased the activities of GSH-PX, SOD, and T-AOC (linear and quadratic; p < 0.05), while increasing the MDA content (linear; p < 0.05). Compared with HED and MED, LED increased the relative abundance of the genera unclassified_f_Syntrophomonadaceae, Christensenellaceae_R-7_group and Treponema_2. Compared with HED, MED increased the relative abundance of the genera Ruminiclostridium_5, Ruminiclostridium_1, Family_XIII_UCG-001, unclassified_o__Clostridiales and norank_f__PL-11B10. Thyroid hormone synthesis, tyrosine metabolism, and glutathione metabolism pathways are critical metabolic routes; these pathways can enhance energy metabolism and antioxidant function, thereby improving the milk production performance of lactating donkeys. In conclusion, the digestible energy of 12.40 MJ/kg was optimal for the milk performance of lactating donkeys, whereas excessively high dietary energy (13.1 MJ/kg) may reduce milk performance.