The impact of supplement myo-inositol on meat quality, antioxidant capacity, and gene expression in Procambarus clarkii.

This study aimed to explore how dietary myo-inositol (MI) affects the meat quality, antioxidant capacity, and muscle development of Procambarus clarkii. A total of 360 young P. clarkii were fed six diets containing graded levels of MI (0 (control), 500, 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, and 4,000 mg/kg diet) for 6 weeks. After the experiment, the abdominal muscle samples were collected from six groups of P. clarkii. Supplementing MI can increase the abdomen meat content and the content of free MI and phosphatidylinositol (PI) in the muscle tissue of P. clarkii. When an appropriate amount of MI is added to the feed, muscle meat quality will be beneficially improved, mainly reflected in water-holding capacity (WHC), elasticity, meat color, etc. Compared with the control group, adding 1,000 mg/kg of MI to the feed can significantly increase muscle L* value (P<.05) and reduce muscle centrifugal loss (P<.05). Moreover, when 1,000 mg/kg of MI was added to the feed, the total essential amino acid (TEAA) and hydroxyproline (HYP) content of muscles were significantly higher than the control group (P<.05). Supplementing MI reduced muscle oxidative metabolite content (ROS, MDA, and LA), and increased antioxidant enzyme activity and related gene expression. These results suggest that dietary MI can activate the Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathways, increasing muscle antioxidant enzyme activity. In addition, supplementing MI can activate the expression of crayfish GH-IGF axis-related genes. When 1,000 mg/kg MI was added, the Mef2a, Mef2b, and IGF-1 genes expression levels were significantly higher than the control group (P<.05). In summary, supplementing 1,000 mg/kg MI can regulate muscle amino acid metabolism by regulating the Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway to promote muscle development and improve meat quality.