Effects of dietary allicin supplementation on meat quality, antioxidant enzymes, fiber characteristics, and flavor composition of Guizhou black goats

This study examined the effect of allicin on the meat quality of Guizhou black male goats. Thirty-two male Guizhou black goats (18.28 ± 0.41 kg) were randomly divided into one of four groups in a completely randomized design (CRD): control (CON, without allicin), low allicin (L, 0.5 g/head/day), medium allicin (M, 0.75 g/head/day), and high allicin (H, 1 g/head/day), with 8 goats per group (n = 8). The findings indicate that allicin can improve meat quality traits, nutritional composition, antioxidant capacity in muscle, and muscle fiber properties. Moreover, allicin facilitated intramuscular fat (IMF) and inosine monophosphate (IMP) deposition by upregulating the mRNA expression of key IMF genes (fatty acid binding protein 4 [FABP4] and fatty acid synthase [FASN]) and IMP genes (adenylosuccinate lyase [ADSL] and 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide formyltransferase [ATIC]). Allicin also improved the nutritional value of goat meat and its health benefits by modifying the fatty acid composition, amino acid profile, and volatile flavor compounds. Allicin enhanced goat meat quality by improving its color, tenderness, antioxidant capacity, flavor, umami, and health benefits. The optimal meat quality results were observed at an allicin supplementation level of 0.75 g/head/day. This suggests that allicin at this level could be a promising feed additive for improving meat quality in ruminants. Future studies should validate these findings in large-scale trials and explore the mechanisms underlying allicin's effects on goat meat quality.