Microalgae-based feeds are increasingly considered sustainable ingredients for animal nutrition, although their impact on skeletal muscle metabolism remains poorly understood. This study investigated the metabolic changes in piglet muscle in response to dietary Chlorella vulgaris, with or without supplementation with carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes), using an untargeted metabolomics approach. Forty-two weaned piglets were assigned to four dietary treatments: a control diet; 5% C. vulgaris (CH); CH supplemented with 0.005% Rovabio® Excel AP (CH+R); and CH supplemented with 0.01% of a four-CAZyme mixture (CH+M). Muscle metabolomes were analysed using 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Multivariate analysis showed a largely conserved muscle metabolomic profile across treatments, indicating that dietary treatment did not cause distinct metabolic shifts. However, univariate analysis identified significant differences in specific metabolites (p < 0.05). Piglets fed C. vulgaris-supplemented diets had higher concentrations of methionine, succinate, β-alanine, and betaine than the control group, whereas tyramine levels were lower (p < 0.05). Generally, dietary interventions resulted in minor metabolic changes in muscle tissue, affecting particular metabolites. There was no evidence of changes in overall muscle metabolism.
Martins et al. (Fri,) studied this question.