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Astragalus membranaceus (AP) contains a variety of bioactive components. Although its effects on muscle development in piglets are notable, research on its application in finishing pigs remains limited, particularly concerning its impact on carcass quality.
Objective: The aim of this study was to systematically evaluate the effects of AP on growth performance, carcass quality, muscle fiber characteristics, and meat quality in finishing pigs.
Methods: A total of 80 crossbred pigs (86.30 ± 1.0 kg) of approximately 5 months of age were selected and randomly assigned four treatments (5 pens/treatment; 4 pigs/pen) on the basis of their initial body weight. They were, respectively, fed a basal diet (control group), and a basal diet supplemented with 0.1, 0.2%, or 0.3% AP. Blood and longissimus dorsi muscle samples were collected, and performance and meat quality were measured.
Results: The results showed that compared with the control treatment, supplementation with AP increased the final body weight, average daily gain, and average daily feed intake, and improved the dressing percentage, loin eye area, lean meat percentage, pH24h, a*, cooking percentage, marbling scores, and intramuscular fat of carcass and meat. In addition, the AP treatments also increased the contents of phenylalanine, methionine, and several other amino acids in the meat; growth serum hormone (INS, IGFs, and T3) concentrations; muscle fiber cross-sectional areas; and the mRNA expression levels of FBOX32 and MyoG in muscles. Meanwhile, AP treatments also decreased the feed-to-gain ratio, fat percentage, L*, b*, and shear force of meat, somatostatin and T4 serum concentrations, and muscle fiber diameters. However, there were no differences in these parameters between the treatments with different levels of AP supplementation these parameters.
Conclusion: Dietary supplementation with Astragalus membranaceus enhances growth performance, carcass traits, and meat quality in finishing pigs, as reflected by improved amino acid profiles, optimized growth-related serum hormones, favorable muscle fiber characteristics, and increased expression of key genes regulating muscle development.
Ma W, Ma Z, Zhang X, Mao P, Gao M, Zhao L, Wu Q. Effects of Astragalus polysaccharide supplementation on growth performance, carcass quality, muscle fiber characteristics, meat quality, and development of finishing pigs. Frontiers in Nutrition. 2025; 12: 1654720. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2025.1654720