Phytase Supplementation of Growing-Finishing Pig Diets with Extruded Soya Seeds and Rapeseed Meal Improves Bone Mineralization and Carcass and Meat Quality.

The aim of this study was to determine how different doses of phytase in diets with extruded soybean seeds and rapeseed meal affected pigs' growth performance, meat quality, bone mineralization, and fatty acid profiles. Sixty pigs were divided into three treatments by sex and body mass. Pigs were divided into starter (25 days), grower (36 days), and finisher (33 days) periods and fed with mash diets. No phytase was used in the control group diet, whereas in Phy1 and Phy2, 100 g and 400 g of phytase per ton of mixture were used, respectively. The feed conversion ratio and meat color were significantly correlated with phytase. Phytase supplementation had no effect on the growth of pigs, but total phosphorus was significantly increased in the bones and meat of the pigs. The enzyme additive reduced the C22:4 n-6 acid content in the meat, whereas other results were not significantly affected. The data suggest that the addition of phytase at a dosage of 100 g/ton to diets with extruded full-fat soya seeds and rapeseed meal can be valuable, as it reduces the FCR and increases the P content in the meat and bones.

Dietary Coleus amboinicus Lour. decreases ruminal methanogenesis and biohydrogenation, and improves meat quality and fatty acid composition in longissimus thoracis muscle of lambs.

BACKGROUND: Methane production and fatty acids (FA) biohydrogenation in the rumen are two main constraints in ruminant production causing environmental burden and reducing food product quality. Rumen functions can be modulated by the biologically active compounds (BACs) of plant origins as shown in several studies e.g. reduction in methane emission, modulation of FA composition with positive impact on the ruminant products. Coleus amboinicus Lour. (CAL) contains high concentration of polyphenols that may potentially reduce methane production and modulate ruminal biohydrogenation of unsaturated FA. This study aimed to investigate the effect of BAC of Coleus amboinicus Lour. (CAL) fed to growing lambs on ruminal methane production, biohydrogenation of unsaturated FA and meat characteristics. In this study, the in vitro experiment aiming at determining the most effective CAL dose for in vivo experiments was followed by two in vivo experiments in rumen-cannulated rams and growing lambs. Experiment 1 (RUSITEC) comprised of control and three experimental diets differing in CAL content (10%, 15%, and 20% of the total diet). The two in vivo experiments were conducted on six growing, rumen-cannulated lambs (Exp. 2) and 16 growing lambs (Exp. 3). Animals were assigned into the control (CON) and experimental (20% of CAL) groups. Several parameters were examined in vitro (pH, ammonia and VFA concentrations, protozoa, methanogens and select bacteria populations) and in vivo (methane production, digestibility, ruminal microorganism populations, meat quality, fatty acids profiles in rumen fluid and meat, transcript expression of 5 genes in meat). RESULTS: CAL lowered in vitro methane production by 51%. In the in vivo Exp. 3, CAL decreased methane production by 20% compared with the CON group, which corresponded to reduction of total methanogen counts by up to 28% in all experiments, notably Methanobacteriales. In Exp. 3, CAL increased or tended to increase populations of some rumen bacteria (Ruminococcus albus, Megasphaera elsdenii, Butyrivibrio proteoclasticus, and Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens). Dietary CAL suppressed the Holotricha population, but increased or tended to increase Entodiniomorpha population in vivo. An increase in the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) proportion in the rumen of lambs was noted in response to the CAL diet, which was mainly attributable to the increase in C18:3 cis-9 cis-12 cis-15 (LNA) proportion. CAL reduced the mRNA expression of four out of five genes investigated in meat (fatty acid synthase, stearoyl-CoA desaturase, lipoprotein lipase, and fatty acid desaturase 1). CONCLUSIONS: Summarizing, polyphenols of CAL origin (20% in diet) mitigated ruminal methane production by inhibiting the methanogen communities. CAL supplementation also improved ruminal environment by modulating ruminal bacteria involved in fermentation and biohydrogenation of FA. Besides, CAL elevated the LNA concentration, which improved meat quality through increased deposition of n-3 PUFA.

The Effect of Feeding Chicken and Geese Broilers with Different Cereals on the Fatty Acids Profile in Meat.

The research was conducted on the effect of bird broilers fed with different hybrid rye doses on the fatty acids profile in muscle. The first experiment was performed on 3 geese broilers groups fed with hybrid rye, oats or hybrid rye and oats mix in proportion 1:1. No effect of the hybrid rye feeding of geese on the SFA level in meat was observed, but the MUFA level was significantly higher and PUFA level and n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio were significantly lower than in geese fed with oats. The second experiment was performed on 3 chicken broiler groups fed with mix of corn, wheat, soybean meal and rapeseed oil (control group), and fed with an addition of 10% or 20% hybrid rye in diet (experimental groups). No effect of hybrid rye feeding of chicken broilers on the meat quality and SFA level was observed. However, the MUFA level was higher and the PUFA level and n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio were lower in meat of chicken broilers fed with hybrid rye. In conclusion hybrid rye is a healthy ingredient in the diet of studied birds and may be used up to 20% in chicken broilers and 50% in the diets of geese. A 100% hybrid rye in geese diet caused lower final body weight.

Research on the Effects of Gender and Feeding Geese Oats and Hybrid Rye on Their Slaughter Traits and Meat Quality.

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of feeding Zatorska variety geese hybrid rye, oats, or a mixture of both grains (1:1) on slaughter value and meat quality. At 14 weeks old, the birds were separated into three feeding groups (n = 12) and were fed between 15 and 17 weeks of age with hybrid rye, oats, or a mixture of these two grains. The research proved the effect of gender and feeding on some slaughter value traits and meat quality of the goslings' breast meat. It was found that the ganders had a 10% to 15% higher body and carcass weight than the females. No significant differences were observed between the genders within the majority of the physical and chemical characteristics as well as the sensory traits. The feeding type did not have a significant effect on the goslings' body weight and carcass element share. The birds fed hybrid rye had a 2 percentage points lower slaughter yield than those birds fed oats which was combined with a lower share of subcutaneous fat (measured as the weight of the tissue coming from dissection) in birds fed hybrid rye. The meat of the birds fed hybrid rye had some better physical, chemical characteristics and, in the female goslings, also better sensory quality. The results indicated that hybrid rye may be used in feeding goslings at the end of the growing period, because it did not cause any negative effects on the pre-slaughter body weight and had a positive effect on some meat quality traits, such as better sensory estimation results, higher protein content, and lower drip losses.

Novel ultrasound approach for measuring marbling in pork.

An ultrasound examination was done on the m. longissimus lumborum, between the 10th and the 11th thoracic vertebra, on two sides (inside and outside the thoracic cavity) of the left half-carcasses of 162 fatteners. The carcasses were classified for lean meat percentage using the SEUROP system. The R pig carcasses (47.7% lean) had the thickest backfat (30.6mm; P≤0.01) and the highest content of intramuscular fat (IMF=2.28%; P≤0.01). More artifacts-free images were collected from the inside compared to the outside of the pig carcasses (90.1% vs. 58.6%; P≤0.01). The percent of bright pixels (PBP) was the highest for the inside, for all the lean-meat-content classes (P≤0.01). The correlation between the PBP and the IMF was higher for the images of the inside compared to the outside (r=0.811; P=0.001 vs. r=0.523; P=0.009). The ultrasound images of the inside of the carcasses proved to be the most useful for making an assessment of the marbling.

The influence of thermal processing on the fatty acid profile of pork and lamb meat fed diet with increased levels of unsaturated fatty acids.

The research was carried out on 32 crossbred pigs of Polish Large White × Danish Landrace with Duroc and 80 rams, crossbreds of the Prolific-Dairy Koludzka Sheep with the Ile de France, a meat sheep. The fodder for the animals was enriched with the unsaturated fatty acids originated mainly from linseed and rapeseed oils. The fatty acid profile was determined in cooked longissimus lumborum, roasted triceps brachii and raw ripened rump from pigs as well as in grilled lambs' legs and their corresponding raw materials. Roasting caused the most pronounced increase of the saturated fatty acids and decrease in the polyunsaturated fatty acids of heated pork muscles. The smallest changes were observed in grilled lamb legs. The heating processes applied in this study, in most cases, did not cause essential changes in the indices of pro-health properties of fatty acid, therefore meat in the majority fulfil the latest recommendations of EFSA and FAO/WHO according to human health.

On-line measurements in pig carcass classification: Repeatability and variation caused by the operator and the copy of instrument.

For nearly all pigs slaughtered in the EU, the lean meat content is assessed on-line at the slaughter line. The assessment is made indirectly by an instrument performing a number of informative measurements including the thickness of back fat as one of the most important and common measurements. Several types of instruments are used for making the measurements. The quality of the calibration (the prediction ability) has to be approved by the EU Commission. However, the maintenance of instruments, training of operators, working conditions and other factors influencing the routine are quite as important for the accuracy as the calibration. As a part of an EU funded project, partners representing thirteen European countries have investigated the instruments used in their countries focusing on the precision of indirect measurements. The preconditions have differed considerably between the countries resulting in a wide range of estimates of the repeatability and the reproducibility (precision) of fat and muscle thickness. Totally, there have been three different types of manual instruments - invasive probe instruments from three manufacturers, non-invasive ultrasound and callipers. Furthermore, the precision of two automatic instruments with respect to lean meat content has partly been estimated. Even though neither the aim nor the design of the experiments was set for a direct comparison between different instruments, none of them seemed to deviate notably from the others with respect to the precision of fat thickness. In this study, the only investigated influencing factors were the variations in operators and copies of instruments. Generally, the variations between operators were more important than the variation between copies of the same type of instrument.