Natural and Synthetic Compounds to Improve Muscle Growth While Preserving and Enhancing Animal Welfare in Livestock Production

Global meat consumption is projected to exceed 550 million tons by 2050, driven by population growth, urbanisation, and rising incomes. Meeting this demand will require livestock systems that improve production efficiency while maintaining high standards of animal welfare and meat quality. Although advances in genetics, nutrition, and management have enhanced lean tissue growth and resource efficiency, further innovation is needed to support muscle development without adverse effects on animal well-being, carcass traits, or product integrity.

Aside from traditional technologies, novel natural and synthetic compounds are emerging as promising tools to modulate key biological processes across the production cycle. These compounds may influence muscle growth, metabolic regulation, stress resilience, immune function, and post-harvest meat characteristics, with potential to improve growth performance and carcass value while reducing the effects of heat stress, transport, handling, and other production challenges.

This Research Topic aims to address the challenge of increasing meat production in response to growing global demand while preserving animal welfare and maintaining meat quality. It will bring together studies evaluating the effects of natural or synthetic compounds on livestock growth, welfare, and meat quality, with an emphasis on both mechanistic understanding and practical application. Central to this scope are the interactions and trade-offs between muscle growth, animal welfare, and sustainable production.

Topics of interest include:

Muscle development and growth in in vitro systems and in vivo prenatal and postnatal models;

Welfare-related outcomes, including ambulatory movement measures, stress physiology, behaviour monitoring, and immune responses;

Meat quality traits, including carcass quality, palatability, and colour stability.

Interactions and trade-offs between muscle growth, animal welfare, and sustainable production, with meat quality addressed as a secondary aspect supporting more mechanistic or welfare-focused investigations.

Submissions across cattle, swine, sheep, goats, poultry, and other food-producing species are encouraged. We welcome studies that investigate mechanisms of action, assess production-relevant outcomes, or link biological responses with welfare and meat quality consequences. Manuscript types of interest include Original Research, Review, Mini Review, Methods, and Perspective articles.
Natural and synthetic compounds are emerging as promising tools to modulate key biological processes across the production cycle. These compounds may influence muscle growth, metabolic regulation, stress resilience, immune function, and post-harvest meat characteristics, with potential to improve growth performance and carcass value while reducing the effects of heat stress, transport, handling, and other production challenges.

This Research Topic aims to address the challenge of increasing meat production in response to growing global demand while preserving animal welfare and maintaining meat quality. It will bring together studies evaluating the effects of natural or synthetic compounds on livestock growth, welfare, and meat quality, with an emphasis on both mechanistic understanding and practical application.


Topics of interest include:

1. muscle development and growth in in vitro systems and in vivo prenatal and postnatal models;

2. welfare-related outcomes, including stress physiology, behaviour monitoring, and immune responses;

3. meat quality traits, including carcass quality, palatability, and colour stability.

4. Interactions and trade-offs between muscle growth, animal welfare and sustainable production

Submissions across cattle, swine, sheep, goats, poultry, and other food-producing species are encouraged. We welcome studies that investigate mechanisms of action, assess production-relevant outcomes, or link biological responses with welfare and meat quality consequences. Manuscript types of interest include Original Research, Review, Mini Review, Methods, and Perspective articles.