Effect of Italian heavy pig diets based on different barley varieties with or without non-starch polysaccharides degrading enzymes on growth performance, carcass characteristics and fresh thigh quality

The effect of diets based on two different barley varieties, with or without non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) degrading enzymes was evaluated on growth performance, carcass characteristics and fresh thigh quality in Italian heavy growing-finishing pigs. Pigs (64) were assigned to four diets: two diets based on 85% of hulled normal-amylose barley (Cometa, with or without NSP enzyme complex) and two diets based on 85% of hulless low-amylose barley (Alamo, with or without NSP enzyme complex). The diets were formulated according to three growth phases with same lisyne:digestible energy ratio. The NSP enzyme complex did not improve the Cometa and Alamo diets in terms of pig growth performance, carcass characteristics and fresh thigh quality. Throughout the study, the Alamo group had greater (p < 0.05) final body weight, average daily gain and gain per megacalorie of digestible energy than the Cometa group. Higher (p < 0.05) carcass and thigh weights, and lower (p < 0.01) thigh chilling losses were observed for the Alamo group compared with the Cometa group. The Cometa diet decreased (p < 0.01) polyunsaturated fatty acids level, and increased (p < 0.01) monounsaturated fatty acid content and saturated fatty acids/polyunsaturated fatty acids ratio in subcutaneous fat of fresh thighs. No appreciable differences were observed in the color of subcutaneous fat and biceps femoris of pigs fed the Cometa and Alamo diets. Feeding hulless low-amylose barley to growing-finishing pigs can be valuable to promote growth performance and carcass characteristics. No NSP enzyme complex is needed when hulled normal-amylose barley or hulless low-amylose barley are used in diets for heavy pigs

Effect of feeding maltodextrins and dextrose on rearing and slaughtering performance of immunocastrated male pigs.

This study aimed to verify previous research findings showing that feeding maltodextrins (M) and dextrose (D) leads to a reduction of voluntary feed intake in the Italian heavy pig. This may be interesting for immunocastrated pigs fed ad libitum (ad lib.), whose feed intake skyrockets after the 2nd vaccination, causing too fatty carcasses at slaughtering. Thirty-six male pigs (Italian Duroc x Italian Large White crossbred) received a double immunocastrating injection at 90 and 162 days of age. At 120 days, weighing 51.84+4.38 kg, the subjects were evenly housed in 9 boxes, fed ad lib. till the 2nd injection and then given, until slaughtering (197 days of age; 144.51±9.70 kg), one of the experimental diets: control diet, ad lib. (CL); control diet, restricted at 7.5% l.w.0.75 (CR); with MD (3.5 + 3.5%; adjusted for energy and protein), ad lib. (MD). The CR diet was introduced as the alternative choice to avoid too fatty carcasses. Compared to the restricted ones, pigs fed ad lib. (with or without MD) showed statistically higher (P&lt;.01) ADG (1325 and 1325 vs 905 g/d), ADFI (4630 and 4637 vs 2760 g/d), feed:gain ratio (3.53 and 3.52 vs 3.11), and heavier carcasses (125.1 and 124.4 vs 113.2 kg; P&lt;.01) with lower lean meat content (52.21 and 52.09 vs 55.83 %; P&lt;.01). The results point out how immunocastrated pigs fed ad lib. showed similar rearing and slaughtering performance regardless of the inclusion of M and D in the diet

quality traits of ciauscolo salami from meat of pigs fed rosemary extract enriched diet

The microbiological, chemical-physical and organoleptic characteristics of four batches of Ciauscolo salami, two made from meat of pigs fed diet integrated with 0.2% of rosemary extract (RS) and two controls (CSs), were considered. Three samples for each batch were in double analyzed for total bacterial count at 30°C, enumeration of lactococci, lactobacilli, staphylococcus coagulase positive, enterococci, Enterobacteriaceae, and isolation of Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes, after filling and at 7 and 20 days of ripening. On the same samples, measurement of pH (pHmeter MP120; Mettler-Toledo Spa, Schwerzenbach, Switzerland), activity water (aw) (Hygroscope BT-RS1 Rotronic; PBI International, Milan, Italy) and CIE L*a*b* colour (Chromameter Minolta C400; Minolta Ltd., Osaka, Japan) were performed. Proximal composition, NaCl content (AOAC, 1990) thiobarbituric reactive substances (TBARs) and panel test (ISO 8586-1:1993 and ISO 8586) were performed only on samples obtained at the end of the ripening time. No difference in proximal composition, pH, aw values and microbial counts between CS and RS samples were observed along the whole production period. Colour analyses reveal higher a* values in RS (10.79 vs 9.68, P<0.05). Higher TBARs mean value was recorded in CS at the end of ripening (1.12 vs 0.91 mg MDA/100g, P<0.01). Even if no statistical differences were recorded in all the parameters considered in sensory evaluation, the overall acceptance of RS samples tended to be higher than CS

Feedstuffs for organic pigs

This tool is created for pig farmers who want to use organic feedstuffs other than soybean, because a big part of soybeans is genetically modified and the risk of cross contamination is high. The Italian Ministry of Agriculture finances the Council for Agricultural Research and Analysis of Agricultural Economics (CREA) to investigate solutions for organic nutrition. CREA created a manual with existing and new information about organic feedstuffs. The manual is a list of information about characteristics and utilization of main feedstuffs for pigs. For each feed there are summarised agronomic information, nutritional values of single feeds in the table, and potential uses and limitation of each ingredient in a ration

Effect of feeding maltodextrins and dextrose on rearing and slaughtering performance of immunocastrated male pigs.

This study aimed to verify previous research findings showing that feeding maltodextrins (M) and dextrose (D) leads to a reduction of voluntary feed intake in the Italian heavy pig; this may be interesting for immunocastrated pigs fed ad libitum, whose feed intake skyrockets after the 2nd vaccination, causing too fatty carcasses at slaughtering. Thirty-six male pigs (Italian Duroc x Italian Large White crossbred) received a double immunocastrating injection at 90 and 162 days of age. At 120 days, weighing 51.84+4.38 kg, the subjects were evenly housed in 9 boxes, fed ad libitum till the 2nd injection and then given, until slaughtering (197 days of age; 144.51±9.70 kg), one of the experimental diets: control diet, ad libitum (CL); control diet, restricted at 7.5% l.w.0.75 (CR); with MD (3.5 + 3.5%; adjusted for energy and protein by lowering corn meal while increasing barley, soybean meal, and wheat bran), ad libitum (MD). The CR diet was introduced as the alternative choice to avoid too fatty carcasses. Compared to the restricted ones, pigs fed ad libitum during the entire trial (with or without MD) showed higher ADG (1265 and 1260 vs 1085 g/d), ADFI (3780 and 3833 vs 2943 g/d), feed:gain ratio (3.00 and 3.05 vs 2.72) and heavier carcasses (125.13 and 124.40 vs 113.25 kg), with lower lean meat content (52.21 and 52.09 vs 55.83 %). The results point out how immunocastrated pigs fed ad libitum showed similar rearing and slaughtering performance regardless of the inclusion of maltodextrins and dextrose in the diet

Effect of a diet enriched in PUFA and polyphenols on the expression of genes involved in lipids metabolism in pigs

The content of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids (FA) in pig muscle is very important not only for the consumers’ health but also for the pig processing industry. Breed, diet and genetics are the main factors controlling FA composition of pig meat even if molecular processes and genes controlling lipids metabolism are not yet well known. We performed the present study to improve the knowledge of diet influence on the transcription of genes controlling lipids metabolism. The effects on gene expression of a diet enriched in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and polyphenols vs. a control diet were compared. The transcription level of 30 genes involved in FA metabolism and fat deposition in pigs was analysed. Two groups of 12 Italian Large White pigs each, balanced for sex, were reared until the average weight of 149 kg (±10.7 kg). The first group (G1) was fed a standard diet while for the second group (G2) the diet was supplemented with linseed and grape extract. Samples of longissimus dorsi were collected at slaughter and stored at -80 C until RNA extraction. Preliminary data have been obtained for 11 genes (ACACA, ACDC, ADIPOR1, ADIPOR2, CHREBP, ELOVL6 isoform 1 and 2, FADS2, FASN, LXRA, PLIN3, SCD) using qRT-PCR and B2M, HPRT1, POLR2A as normalizing genes. Moreover, the pigs have been genotyped for a SNP in the promoter region of the ELOVL6 gene (ELOVL6:c.-480C>T). The expression levels of this set of genes were compared between the two diets using the Exact Wilcoxon Test in R software. Partial results show that the diet supplementation with PUFA and polyphenols influences the transcription of genes involved in the long chain FA synthesis and in lipids utilization. In particular, both ELOVL6 iso1 and iso2 expressions are higher in G2 than in G1 (p¼.04 and p¼.03, respectively). The same trend is observed for the higher transcription level of ACDC gene in G2 than in G1 group (p¼.06). The ratio between the ELOVL6 isoforms (iso2/iso1) is more elevated in the ELOVL6 CT when compared to TT (p¼.03) and to CC (p¼.06) genotypes. The study is currently underway on the remaining genes. At the end of the analysis of the full set of genes, the correlated gene expressions in both diets and the effects on FA profile of muscle and meat quality traits will also be considered

Dietary CLA supplementation of pigs confers higher oxidative stability to ciauscolo and fabriano salami produced from their meat with no negative impact on the physico-chemical, microbiological and sensorial characteristics

It has been reported that conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers are considered particularly beneficial to human health and affect the technological properties of pork meat products such as salami. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of 0.5% CLA supplementation of heavy pig diets on the chemical composition, total fatty acids (FA), oxidative stability, sensory and microbial properties of Ciauscolo and Fabriano salami. The incorporation of CLA into the diet did not modify the chemical, microbial or sensory descriptive analysis of the salami. The CLA dietary supplementation changed the proportions of FA, in particular leading to an increase in the proportion of saturated fatty acids and CLA in both Ciauscolo and Fabriano salami. The results of consumer testing showed a higher degree of liking by consumers when the CLA sample was accompanied by product information, demonstrating the strong influence of the label on consumer perception. The interesting finding was the increase in the oxidative stability of the salami at the end of ripening. This confirms the hypothesis that CLA can affect the saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids/monounsaturated FA ratio in meat products and possesses antioxidative properties that can be transferred, through dietary supplementation, to salami. Practical applications: Feeding a 0.5% CLA diet to finisher pigs resulted in changes in the proportions of FA and enhanced the oxidative stability of salami but did not modify the sensory properties of the products. More research is needed to find the right inclusion level of CLA to be considered optimal from the point of view of producing a high quality product with superior organoleptical, technological and potential health-related properties

Modifiche dei sistemi foraggeri per la zootecnia e dei sistemi di alimentazione

E\u2019 ormai pienamente acquisita la percezione dell\u2019influenza che ha il cambiamento climatico sull\u2019economia e nella societ\ue0, non solo in ragione dell\u2019aumento di intensit\ue0 e frequenza degli eventi metereologici estremi, ma anche delle politiche proposte in tutti i settori (dall\u2019industria ai trasporti, dalla sanit\ue0 alla pianificazione del territorio, e chiaramente in agricoltura e nelle relative filiere agro-alimentari) all\u2019attenzione dei diversi stakeholder. Il libro bianco intende individuare delle misure di mitigazione e di adattamento che siano integrate nei vari settori (agricoltura e zootecnia, energia, industria, trasporti, la societ\ue0 stessa) e ai vari livelli di governo. In sintesi, il contributo multidisciplinare vuole essere un\u2019analisi dettagliata delle relazioni esistenti tra agricoltura e cambiamenti climatici, al fine di delineare delle strategie di mitigazione ed adattamento realistiche ed attuabili

Effect of replacing corn with hulled and hulless or low-amylose hulless barley varieties on growth performance and carcass quality of italian growing-finishing pig

ABSTRACT: A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of diets based on hulled or hulless (normal- and low-amylose) barley varieties on growth performance and carcass characteristics in heavy growing-finishing pigs for the production of protected designation of origin (PDO) Italian products. The study was performed with 40 gilts and 40 barrows (Italian Duroc × Italian Large White). Four diets were formulated: 1) corn-based diet (control), 2) control diet with 80% of a normal-amylose hulled barley variety named Cometa (Cometa), 3) control diet with 80% of a normal-amylose hulless barley variety named Astartis (Astartis), and 4) control diet with 80% of a low-amylose hulless barley variety named Alamo (Alamo). The diets were formulated according to 3 growth phases (P1, 40 to 80 kg BW; P2, 80 to 120 kg BW; and P3, 120 to 170 kg BW), with the same Lys:DE ratio (2.60, 2.20, and 1.80, respectively in P1, P2, and P3) according to the NRC requirements for P1 and P2 and according to requirements for high-performing pigs for P3. The diets were analyzed for their in vitro starch digestion potentials (predicted glycemic index, pGI) and for their resistant starch (RS) contents. In P1, P2, and P3, the Alamo diet had the numerically lowest RS contents and greatest pGI values, whereas the control diet had the numerically greatest RS contents and the lowest pGI values. Throughout the study, the pigs fed Cometa and Alamo diets grew faster (P < 0.01) than those fed the control diet, whereas pigs receiving Astartis diet grew in a similar manner to those receiving all the other diets. Pigs fed Cometa and Alamo achieved greater final BW (P < 0.01) compared with those fed the control diet. The pigs receiving the Astartis diet had a mean final BW similar to that of the pigs fed other diets. Throughout the study, the control group had a lower grams per megacalorie DE (P < 0.01) compared with the pigs fed diets with barley, whereas the gain per megacalorie of DE (G/Mcal DE) was greater (P < 0.01) for the pigs fed hulled barley compared with the pig fed hulless barleys. No difference in carcass characteristics was found among treatments (P > 0.05). This study showed that diets based both on hulled and hulless barley might be suitable for the heavy pig breeding intended to the production of Italian PDO products. In addition, hulled or low-amylose hulless barley could be valuable to support maximum pig growth performance without affecting carcass composition