Influence of Porcine Plasma Supplementation on Gestating Sow Serum IGF-1 Concentration and Litter Weights

The objective of this pilot study was to determine the effect of dietary porcine plasma on circulating insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) concentrations in gestating sows and characteristics of their litters. Primiparous and multiparous sows were randomly allocated to two treatment groups of sows fed a basal diet or sows fed the basal diet plus 6 g of porcine plasma throughout gestation. On 4 periods during gestation and farrowing, blood was collected for IGF-1 analysis. After farrowing, gestation length, number born, birth weight, and total litter weight were recorded. There were no three-way or two-way interactions between treatments, day of gestation, or parity for sow IGF-1 concentration (P\u3e0.142). Treatment also did not affect (P=0.117) sow IGF-1 concentration. There were no treatment × parity or treatment effects on litter measures (P=0.170). Feeding porcine plasma at the low level employed in the study did not improve sow IGF-1 or litter measures. Keywords: Piglets, Fetal Growth, Porcine Plasm

Generating equations using meta-analyses to predict iodine value of pork carcass back, belly, and jowl fat

Meta-analyses used data from existing literature to generate equations to predict finishing pig back, belly, and jowl fat iodine value (IV) followed by a prospective study to validate these equations. The final database included 24, 21, and 29 papers for back, belly, and jowl fat IV, respectively. For experiments that changed dietary fatty acid composition, initial diets (INT) were defined as those fed before the change in diet composition and final diets (FIN) were those fed after. The predictor variables tested were divided into 5 groups: (1) diet fat composition (dietary % C16:1, C18:1, C18:2, C18:3, essential fatty acid [EFA], UFA, and iodine value product) for both INT and FIN diets; (2) duration of feeding the INT and FIN diets; (3) ME or NE of the INT and FIN diet; (4) performance criteria (initial BW, final BW, ADG, ADFI, and G:F); and (5) carcass criteria (HCW and backfat thickness). PROC MIXED in SAS (SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC) was used to develop regression equations. Evaluation of models with significant terms was then conducted based on the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). The optimum equations to predict back, belly, and jowl fat IV were: backfat IV =84.83 + (6.87*INT EFA) - (3.90*FIN EFA) - (0.12*INT d) - (1.30*FIN d) - (0.11*INT EFA*FIN d) + (0.048*FIN EFA*INT d) + (0.12*FIN EFA*FIN d) - (0.0132*FIN NE) + (0.0011*FIN NE*FIN d) - (6.604*BF); belly fat IV = 106.16 + (6.21*INT EFA) - (1.50*FIN d) - (0.11*INT EFA*FIN d) - (0.0265*INT NE) + (0.00152*INT NE*FIN d) - (0.0816*HCW) - (6.35*BF); and jowl fat IV = 85.50 + (1.08*INT EFA) + (0.87*FIN EFA) - (0.014*INT d) - (0.050*FIN d) + (0.038*INT EFA*INT d) + (0.054*FIN EFA*FIN d) - (0.0146*INT NE) + (0.0322*INT BW) - (0.993*ADFI) - (7.366*BF), where INT EFA = initial period dietary essential fatty acids, %; FIN EFA = final period dietary essential fatty acids, %; INT d = initial period days; FIN d=final period days; INT NE = initial period dietary net energy, kcal/lb; FIN NE = final period dietary net energy, kcal/lb; BF = backfat depth, in.; ADFI = average daily feed intake, lb; INT BW = BW at the beginning of the experiment, lb. Dietary treatments from the validation experiment (see “Influence of Dietary Fat Source and Feeding Duration on Pig Growth Performance, Carcass Composition, and Fat Quality,†p. 210) consisted of a corn-soybean meal control diet with no added fat or a 3 × 3 factorial arrangement with main effects of fat source (4% tallow, 4% soybean oil, or a blend of 2% tallow and 2% soybean oil) and feeding duration (d 0 to 42, 42 to 84, or 0 to 84). The back, belly, and jowl fat IV equations tended to overestimate IV when actual IV values were less than approximately 65 g/100 g and underestimate belly fat IV when actual IV values were greater than approximately 74 g/100 g or when the blend or soybean oil diets were fed from d 42 to 84. Overall, with the exceptions noted, the regression equations were an accurate tool for predicting carcass fat quality based on dietary and pig performance factors.; Swine Day, Manhattan, KS, November 20, 201

Generating equations using meta-analyses to predict iodine value of pork carcass back, belly, and jowl fat

Swine Industry Day, 2014 is known as Swine Day, 2014Meta-analyses used data from existing literature to generate equations to predict finishing pig back, belly, and jowl fat iodine value (IV) followed by a prospective study to validate these equations. The final database included 24, 21, and 29 papers for back, belly, and jowl fat IV, respectively. For experiments that changed dietary fatty acid composition, initial diets (INT) were defined as those fed before the change in diet composition and final diets (FIN) were those fed after. The predictor variables tested were divided into 5 groups: (1) diet fat composition (dietary % C16:1, C18:1, C18:2, C18:3, essential fatty acid [EFA], UFA, and iodine value product) for both INT and FIN diets; (2) duration of feeding the INT and FIN diets; (3) ME or NE of the INT and FIN diet; (4) performance criteria (initial BW, final BW, ADG, ADFI, and G:F); and (5) carcass criteria (HCW and backfat thickness). PROC MIXED in SAS (SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC) was used to develop regression equations. Evaluation of models with significant terms was then conducted based on the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). The optimum equations to predict back, belly, and jowl fat IV were: backfat IV =84.83 + (6.87*INT EFA) - (3.90*FIN EFA) - (0.12*INT d) - (1.30*FIN d) - (0.11*INT EFA*FIN d) + (0.048*FIN EFA*INT d) + (0.12*FIN EFA*FIN d) - (0.0132*FIN NE) + (0.0011*FIN NE*FIN d) - (6.604*BF); belly fat IV = 106.16 + (6.21*INT EFA) - (1.50*FIN d) - (0.11*INT EFA*FIN d) - (0.0265*INT NE) + (0.00152*INT NE*FIN d) - (0.0816*HCW) - (6.35*BF); and jowl fat IV = 85.50 + (1.08*INT EFA) + (0.87*FIN EFA) - (0.014*INT d) - (0.050*FIN d) + (0.038*INT EFA*INT d) + (0.054*FIN EFA*FIN d) - (0.0146*INT NE) + (0.0322*INT BW) - (0.993*ADFI) - (7.366*BF), where INT EFA = initial period dietary essential fatty acids, %; FIN EFA = final period dietary essential fatty acids, %; INT d = initial period days; FIN d=final period days; INT NE = initial period dietary net energy, kcal/lb; FIN NE = final period dietary net energy, kcal/lb; BF = backfat depth, in.; ADFI = average daily feed intake, lb; INT BW = BW at the beginning of the experiment, lb. Dietary treatments from the validation experiment (see “Influence of Dietary Fat Source and Feeding Duration on Pig Growth Performance, Carcass Composition, and Fat Quality,” p. 210) consisted of a corn-soybean meal control diet with no added fat or a 3 × 3 factorial arrangement with main effects of fat source (4% tallow, 4% soybean oil, or a blend of 2% tallow and 2% soybean oil) and feeding duration (d 0 to 42, 42 to 84, or 0 to 84). The back, belly, and jowl fat IV equations tended to overestimate IV when actual IV values were less than approximately 65 g/100 g and underestimate belly fat IV when actual IV values were greater than approximately 74 g/100 g or when the blend or soybean oil diets were fed from d 42 to 84. Overall, with the exceptions noted, the regression equations were an accurate tool for predicting carcass fat quality based on dietary and pig performance factors

Effect of the Programmed Nutrition Beef Program on moisture retention of cooked ground beef patties and enhanced strip loins

This study evaluated the influence of the Programmed Nutrition Beef Program and exogenous growth promotants (ExGP) on water holding capacity characteristics of enhanced beef strip loins. Sixty, frozen strip loins, arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial treatment arrangement with dietary program serving as the first factor and use of ExGP as the second factor, were thawed, injected with an enhancement solution, and stored for 7 days. Loins from ExGP cattle possessed the ability to bind more (P 0.10) before injection, but increased post-injection and after storage (P 0.10). The Programmed Nutrition Beef Program and use of ExGPs minimally impacted water holding capacity of enhanced frozen/thawed beef strip loins

Influence of Porcine Plasma Supplementation on Gestating Sow Serum IGF-1 Concentration and Litter Weights

The objective of this pilot study was to determine the effect of dietary porcine plasma on circulating insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) concentrations in gestating sows and characteristics of their litters. Primiparous and multiparous sows were randomly allocated to two treatment groups of sows fed a basal diet or sows fed the basal diet plus 6 g of porcine plasma throughout gestation. On 4 periods during gestation and farrowing, blood was collected for IGF- 1 analysis. After farrowing, gestation length, number born, birth weight, and total litter weight were recorded. There were no three-way or two-way interactions between treatments, day of gestation, or parity for sow IGF-1 concentration (P>0.142). Treatment also did not affect (P=0.117) sow IGF-1 concentration. There were no treatment × parity or treatment effects on litter measures (P=0.170). Feeding porcine plasma at the low level employed in the study did not improve sow IGF-1 or litter measures

Melatonin Supplementation Alters Maternal and Fetal Amino Acid Concentrations and Placental Nutrient Transporters in a Nutrient Restriction Bovine Model

Melatonin rescues uterine blood flow and fetal body weight in a seasonal dependent manner within a nutrient restriction bovine model. We sought to identify the effects of nutrient restriction, melatonin, and sampling time on maternal and fetal amino acids, and placental nutrient transporters. Pregnant heifers received adequate or restricted nutrition, and 20 mg of melatonin or placebo from gestational days 160–240 over two seasons. On day 240 maternal and fetal blood, amnion, and placentomes were collected. Amino acid concentrations were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Caruncle and cotyledon tissues were assessed for nutrient transporter density by qPCR. Data were analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS for fixed effects. In fall, melatonin rescued effects of nutrient restriction on System N, Anion, and total maternal amino acids. Furthermore, melatonin rescued effects of nutrient restriction on Systems A, N, Br, Bo, and essential amnion amino acids. In summer, melatonin rescued effects of nutrient restriction in Systems Br and Bo maternal amino acids. Furthermore, melatonin rescued effects of nutrient restriction on caruncle SLC38A10 and SLC38A2. Melatonin rescued effects of nutrient restriction in a seasonal dependent manner. These data align with previous studies suggesting melatonin is a more effective therapeutic in summer months

Influence of dietary fat source and feeding duration on pig growth performance, carcass composition, and fat quality

Swine Industry Day, 2014 is known as Swine Day, 2014A total of 160 finishing pigs (PIC 327 × 1050; initially 100.5 lb) were used in an 84-d experiment to evaluate the effects of dietary fat source and feeding duration on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and fat quality. Dietary treatments included a corn-soybean meal control diet with no added fat or a 3 × 3 factorial with main effects of fat source (4% tallow, 4% soybean oil, or a blend of 2% tallow and 2% soybean oil) and feeding duration (d 0 to 42, 42 to 84, or 0 to 84). One pig was identified in each pen on d 0, and biopsy samples of the back, belly, and jowl fat were collected on d 0, 41, and 81. At the conclusion of the study, all pigs were harvested, carcass characteristics were measured, and back, belly, and jowl fat samples were collected. Overall (d 0 to 84), there were no differences between fat sources for growth and carcass characteristics; however, pigs fed diets with added fat from d 0 to 84 had improved (P < 0.036) F/G compared with pigs fed a control diet without added fat. Pigs fed added fat throughout the entire study also had improved (P < 0.042) ADG and F/G and heavier d-84 BW (P < 0.006) compared with pigs fed additional fat for only period 1 or 2. Adding fat for the entire study increased (P < 0.032) backfat and tended to reduce (P < 0.083) fat-free lean index compared with pigs fed the control diet without added fat. Added fat also increased (P < 0.05) iodine value (IV) compared with pigs fed the control diet. Increasing the feeding duration of soybean oil or a blend of soybean oil and tallow decreased monounsaturated and increased polyunsaturated fatty acids relative to feeding tallow (duration × fat source interaction, P < 0.05), with the greatest changes in C18:1 and C18:2, respectively. In conclusion, feeding added fat improved ADG and F/G; however, feeding soybean oil for increasing duration, either alone or in a blend with tallow, negatively affected the fatty acid composition and IV of finishing pigs

Effects of dietary zinc level and ractopamine HCl on pork chop tenderness and shelf-life characteristics

A total of 320 finishing pigs (PIC 327 × 1050; initially 216 lb) were utilized to determine the effects of adding Zn to diets containing ractopamine HCl (RAC) on muscle fiber type distribution, fresh chop color, and cooked meat characteristics. Dietary treatments were fed for approximately 35 d and consisted of: a corn-soybean meal–based negative control (CON); a positive control diet with 10 ppm of RAC (RAC+); and the RAC+ diet plus 75, 150, or 225 ppm added Zn from either ZnO or Availa-Zn. Loins from 80 barrow and 80 gilt carcasses were evaluated. No Zn source effect or Zn source × level interactions we observed during the study (P > 0.10). Pigs fed the RAC+ had increased (P < 0.02) percentage type IIX and a tendency for increased percentage type IIB muscle fibers. Increasing added Zn decreased (linear, P = 0.01) percentage type IIA and tended to increase (P = 0.09) IIX muscle fibers. On d 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of display, pork chops from pigs fed the RAC+ treatment had greater (P < 0.03) L* values (lighter) compared with the CON. On d 0 and 3 of display, increasing added Zn tended to decrease (quadratic, P = 0.10) L* values and decreased (quadratic, P < 0.03) L* values on d 1, 2, 4, and 5. Pigs fed RAC+ had decreased (P < 0.05) a* values (less red) on d 1 and 4 of display and tended to have decreased (P < 0.10) a* values on d 0 and 2 compared with CON pork chops. RAC+ decreased (P < 0.001) metmyoglobin reducing ability (MRA) of pork chops on d 5. Chops from pigs fed added Zn had increased (quadratic, P < 0.03) MRA on d 3 and 5 of the display period. There was a trend for increased (linear, P = 0.07) cooking loss as added Zn increased in RAC diets. In conclusion, RAC+ diets produced chops that were lighter and less red but maintained a higher percentage of surface oxymyoglobin throughout a 5-d simulated retail display. RAC+ reduced MRA at the end of the display period, but supplementing Zn to RAC diets restored MRA to near CON treatment levels at the end of the display period