{"title":"A novel additive of peony seed cake to enhance alfalfa silage quality: integrating metabolomic and microbial community perspectives","authors":"Mingxin Wu, Jiakun Xu, Xuekai Wang, Yanli Lin, Yufan Lin, Jichen Li, Kuikui Ni, Fuyu Yang","doi":"10.1186/s40538-026-00957-5","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Peony seed cake (PSC) has the potential to be a fermentation supplement in view of abundant bioactive compounds and nutrients, despite a low rate of utilization as an oil production byproduct. In this study, its interaction with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) inoculation and its effects were researched through a factorial design to evaluate the effects of PSC supplementation and LAB inoculation on the fermentation of alfalfa.</p><h3>Results</h3><p>PSC supplementation significantly enhanced the nutritional composition, fermentation characteristics, and sensory evaluation of the alfalfa silage. Specifically, the treatment containing 30% PSC (fresh matter basis) was found to be optimal. Analysis of the microbial community revealed that PSC supplementation effectively reshaped the microbial community and suppressed the growth of undesirable bacteria such as coliforms. The addition of LAB further stabilized the structural changes induced by PSC. GC-MS analysis identified 47 volatile organic compounds. The treatment groups exhibited higher abundances of esters and aromatic compounds, such as methyl benzoate and methyl salicylate. Metabolomic profiling revealed that LAB inoculation accelerated the biotransformation of flavonoid glycosides into their aglycone forms and increased stilbenoid concentrations; structural equation modeling further identified this metabolic shift as the primary driver for the enhanced antioxidant activity of the silage.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>These findings demonstrate that the synergistic effect of PSC and LAB enhances alfalfa silage quality by optimizing its fermentation characteristics, microbiome, metabolome. This work provides a viable strategy for the sustainable valorization of oilseed byproducts, offering a novel pathway for producing functionally enhanced forage.</p><h3>Graphical abstract</h3><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":512,"journal":{"name":"Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.8000,"publicationDate":"2026-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s40538-026-00957-5.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40538-026-00957-5","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2026/8/5 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"AGRICULTURE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
Peony seed cake (PSC) has the potential to be a fermentation supplement in view of abundant bioactive compounds and nutrients, despite a low rate of utilization as an oil production byproduct. In this study, its interaction with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) inoculation and its effects were researched through a factorial design to evaluate the effects of PSC supplementation and LAB inoculation on the fermentation of alfalfa.
Results
PSC supplementation significantly enhanced the nutritional composition, fermentation characteristics, and sensory evaluation of the alfalfa silage. Specifically, the treatment containing 30% PSC (fresh matter basis) was found to be optimal. Analysis of the microbial community revealed that PSC supplementation effectively reshaped the microbial community and suppressed the growth of undesirable bacteria such as coliforms. The addition of LAB further stabilized the structural changes induced by PSC. GC-MS analysis identified 47 volatile organic compounds. The treatment groups exhibited higher abundances of esters and aromatic compounds, such as methyl benzoate and methyl salicylate. Metabolomic profiling revealed that LAB inoculation accelerated the biotransformation of flavonoid glycosides into their aglycone forms and increased stilbenoid concentrations; structural equation modeling further identified this metabolic shift as the primary driver for the enhanced antioxidant activity of the silage.
Conclusions
These findings demonstrate that the synergistic effect of PSC and LAB enhances alfalfa silage quality by optimizing its fermentation characteristics, microbiome, metabolome. This work provides a viable strategy for the sustainable valorization of oilseed byproducts, offering a novel pathway for producing functionally enhanced forage.
期刊介绍：
Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture is an international, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed forum for the advancement and application to all fields of agriculture of modern chemical, biochemical and molecular technologies. The scope of this journal includes chemical and biochemical processes aimed to increase sustainable agricultural and food production, the evaluation of quality and origin of raw primary products and their transformation into foods and chemicals, as well as environmental monitoring and remediation. Of special interest are the effects of chemical and biochemical technologies, also at the nano and supramolecular scale, on the relationships between soil, plants, microorganisms and their environment, with the help of modern bioinformatics. Another special focus is the use of modern bioorganic and biological chemistry to develop new technologies for plant nutrition and bio-stimulation, advancement of biorefineries from biomasses, safe and traceable food products, carbon storage in soil and plants and restoration of contaminated soils to agriculture.
This journal presents the first opportunity to bring together researchers from a wide number of disciplines within the agricultural chemical and biological sciences, from both industry and academia. The principle aim of Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture is to allow the exchange of the most advanced chemical and biochemical knowledge to develop technologies which address one of the most pressing challenges of our times - sustaining a growing world population.
Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture publishes original research articles, short letters and invited reviews. Articles from scientists in industry, academia as well as private research institutes, non-governmental and environmental organizations are encouraged.
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