Effect of long-term betaine supplementation on chemical and physical characteristics of three muscles from the Alentejano pig

BACKGROUND: The use of betaine as a dietary supplement to reduce fat deposition and increase lean muscle mass in pigs is increasing. However, there is no available information on its effect on the physical and chemical (i.e. fatty acid (FA) profile) characteristics of pork. RESULTS: The effects of long-term betaine intake (1 g betaine kg−1 diet for 20 weeks) on the chemical and physical characteristics of Musculus Longissimus dorsi, M. biceps femoris and M. semimembranosus from the Alentejano pig were investigated. The contents of total protein, intramuscular lipids (neutral and polar), myoglobin and total collagen as well as the water-holding capacity, physical colour characteristics and FA profile of the three muscles were determined. With the exception of a significant increase in the intramuscular lipid content of M. longissimus dorsi and M. biceps femoris, betaine supplementation did not influence muscle chemical and colour characteristics or body fat deposition. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that long-term betaine supplementation selectively increases intramuscular lipid deposition (a trait related to meat quality) while not affecting other chemical (including the atheroprotective FA profile) and physical characteristics of the Alentejano pig muscles studied

Influence of outdoor rearing and oleic acid supplementation on lipid characteristics of muscle and adipose tissues from obese Alentejano pigs.

Data evaluating the effect of oleic-acid- enriched diets and outdoor rearing (with access to pasture) on the quality of Alentejano (AL) pork and fat are limited. The aim of this work was to study the effects of feeding low (LO) or high oleic acid (HO) diets to AL pigs reared in individual pens (IND) or outdoors (OUT) with access to pasture. Biceps femoris and dorsal subcutaneous fat (DSF) samples were collected to analyse chemical composition and lipids fatty acid (FA) profile. The expression of seven genes involved in lipogenesis, lipolysis and FA transport, as well as two transcription factors were also evaluated in the muscle. B. femoris and DSF presented lower lipid content in OUT-reared than in IND-reared pigs. Two genes involved in lipogenesis, ACACA and FASN, were under-expressed in B. femoris from OUT-reared pigs, while two involved in lipolysis, LPL and HSL were over-expressed. HO diet also significantly reduced FASN expression. Both rearing system and diet affected the FA profile of tissues, particularly DSF. Overall, OUT-reared pigs presented lower n6 to n3 FA ratios in all tissues, and lower monounsaturated (MUFA) and higher polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) content in DSF. When compared to LO-fed ones, HO-fed pigs presented higher oleic acid proportions in all tissues, and lower SFA, higher MUFA and PUFA levels, as well as lower saturation, atherogenic and thrombogenic indexes in DSF. This study shows that rearing system and oleic acid supplementation have complementary effects and influence the nutritional quality of pork and DSF

Efectes de la composició d'àcids grassos de la dieta sobre la deposició de greix i àcids grassos en el porc

The objectives of this thesis were to study the effect of dietary fat composition on whole-pig fat and fatty acid composition related pig lipid metabolism.Seventy gilts were divided in 10 animals per treatment. Pigs were fed one of seven treatments: a diet with a very low level of fat and six fat supplemented diets (10%). The supplemental fats were tallow, high-oleic sunflower oil, sunflower oil, linseed oil, blend (tallow, sunflower oil, linseed oil) and fish oil blend (FO) (fish oil, linseed oil). Whole-body fat content of high-oleic sunflower oil (26.7%) and sunflower oil (26.7%) fed animals was higher than tallow (22.9%) fed animals. This is in parallel with the observation that fat tissue dissection and fat depth were numerically lower in animals fed tallow compared to other diets. Gene expression of lipogenic enzymes also showed reduced expression and reduced triiodothyronine contents in blood in pigs fed tallow.Els objectius de la present tesis foren estudiar l'efecte de la composició lipídica de la dieta sobre la deposició de greix i àcids grassos en el porc en relació amb el metabolisme lipídic.Setanta femelles foren alimentades una de la les set dietes: una dieta sense greix i sis dietes amb un contingut de greix del 10%. Els greixos utilitzats foren sèu vacu, oli de gira-sol alt oleic, oli de gira-sol, oli de llinosa, mescla i una dieta amb oli de peix.El contingut en greix de la canal dels animals alimentats amb oli de gira-sol alt oleic (26.7%) i oli de gira-sol (26.7%) fou superior al dels animals alimentats amb sèu (22.9%). Igualment, els animals alimentats amb sèu tingueren un menor contingut en greix dissecat i greix dorsal. En paral·lel, l'expressió dels enzims lipogènics i els continguts en hormones tiroidees foren inferiors en els animals alimentats amb sèu