{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T16:49:20Z","timestamp":1786121360103,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]],"date-time":"2026-08-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785888000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100009620","name":"Gansu Provincial Science and Technology Department","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["26ZDNG002 and 25CXNH006"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["26ZDNG002 and 25CXNH006"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100009620","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["26ZDNG002 and 25CXNH006"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["26ZDNG002 and 25CXNH006"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03xz2hx98","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Rumen biohydrogenation is a microbial process that converts dietary unsaturated fatty acids into more saturated products and produces a range of intermediates that can affect animal products and rumen fermentation. This review summarizes current knowledge on the main biohydrogenation pathways, the microbial groups involved, and the nutritional and breeding strategies used to regulate this process. Particular attention is given to the transformation of C18 fatty acids, the formation of vaccenic acid and conjugated linoleic acid, the trans-10 shift, and the links between lipid metabolism, hydrogen use, and methane formation. Evidence indicates that diet composition, lipid source, plant secondary metabolites, rumen-protected fat technologies, microbial interventions, and host-related factors can all influence biohydrogenation outcomes. These strategies can improve the fatty acid profile of meat and milk, but their effects are context-dependent and vary with animal species, diet, and rumen microbial structure. Important gaps remain, including the identification of active microbial populations, the functions of many transient intermediates, and the extent to which changes in biohydrogenation directly contribute to methane mitigation. Clarifying these mechanisms is essential for improving the nutritional quality of ruminant products and the sustainability of production systems.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani16152424","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]],"date-time":"2026-08-05T13:16:29Z","timestamp":1785935789000},"page":"2424","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A Review of Rumen Biohydrogenation and Efficient, Green Production of High-Quality Ruminant Products: Mechanisms, Opportunities and Challenges"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-0487-0837","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zixin","family":"Guan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1185-5621","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zhiyuan","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3555-739X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fei","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7818-7659","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xiumin","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Forage Breeding-by-Design and Utilization, Key Laboratory for Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5505-2754","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Li","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Huimin","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Minqin County Defu Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., Minqin 733399, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wei","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Minqin County Defu Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., Minqin 733399, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hui","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Minqin County Defu Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., Minqin 733399, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S272","DOI":"10.1017\/S1751731118001994","article-title":"Review: Modulating ruminal lipid metabolism to improve the fatty acid composition of meat and milk. 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