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Animals
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Nutritional Strategies for Healthy Pork Meat
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Nutritional Strategies for Healthy Pork Meat

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2024) | Viewed by 11499

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ainhoa Sarmiento-García

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Estadística, Universidad de Salamanca, 37007 Salamanca, Spain
Interests: avian production; meat quality; pork meat; sustainable production
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ceferina Vieira Aller

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Estación Tecnológica de la Carne, Instituto Tecnológico Agrario de Castilla y León, 37770 Guijuelo, Salamanca, Spain
Interests: meat quality; meat products quality; meat shelf life; ruminant and pork performance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Despite emerging dietary trends that promote reducing meat in human diets, global meat consumption is constantly increasing. In this sense, pork is one of the most traditional and popular meats consumed worldwide. However, it may have been limited due to its fat content. In monogastric animals, diet is the main factor able to affect the quality of the meat. Changes in animals' feeding are the most commonly studied and applied methods to modify meat properties and quality. In recent years, much research has focused on evaluating the effect of the inclusion of natural ingredients (such as plants or algae) on performance and meat quality. The availability of several bioactive compounds in these ingredients can affect the quality of the meat, enhancing the attractiveness of the product to consumers.

In this Special Issue, we welcome original research articles and reviews that identify natural ingredients as feed for pigs that will generate new and robust information on their effect in promoting pork health. These topics can include relevant information on pig performance, pig health, pig management, and pork meat quality, as well as methods for extracting or processing the ingredients for feeding. This Special Issue will focus especially on swine production and will include work on pigs of different breeds.

We look forward to receiving your contributions. 

Dr. Ainhoa Sarmiento-García
Dr. Ceferina Vieira Aller
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

 

Keywords

  • animal performance
  • bioactive compounds
  • healthy meat
  • natural ingredient
  • pork meat

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 1985 KiB  
Article
Preliminary Research on Dietary Supplementation of Potassium Magnesium Sulphate on Transport Stress in Finishing Pigs Prior to Slaughter
by Bailei Cui, Yunxia Xiong, Xiaolu Wen, Shengnan Wu, Yi Huang, Hao Xiao, Shuting Cao, Zongyong Jiang, Li Wang and Shenglan Hu
Animals 2025, 15(3), 362; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15030362 - 27 Jan 2025
Viewed by 832
Abstract
Transport stress prior to slaughter frequently induces a stress response, negatively affecting meat quality. This study investigated the impact of dietary potassium magnesium sulphate (PMS) supplementation during the fattening stage on the stress response and meat quality in finishing pigs subjected to transport [...] Read more.
Transport stress prior to slaughter frequently induces a stress response, negatively affecting meat quality. This study investigated the impact of dietary potassium magnesium sulphate (PMS) supplementation during the fattening stage on the stress response and meat quality in finishing pigs subjected to transport stress. The experiment involved two phases. Initially, 48 finishing pigs (68.00 ± 0.40 kg) were randomly allocated into two groups: a control group receiving a basal diet (CON) and a PMS-supplemented group receiving the basal diet with 0.50% PMS. Each group was housed in six pens, with four pigs per pen. After 60 days of feeding, in the second phase, two pigs from each pen were randomly selected for slaughter, with one pig subjected to a 4 h transportation stress prior to slaughter. Pigs were categorized into four treatment groups based on diet and stress: (1) control without transport stress, (2) control with transport stress, (3) PMS-supplemented without transport stress, and (4) PMS-supplemented with transport stress. Serum, jejunum, and longissimus thoracis muscle (LM) samples were collected. The results indicated that dietary PMS supplementation did not significantly affect growth performance during the fattening stage (p > 0.05). However, following transport, the PMS pigs showed a reduction in norepinephrine and cortisol concentrations (p = 0.09, p < 0.05) and a significant increase in serum glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity (p < 0.05). Furthermore, PMS supplementation significantly increased serum catalase (CAT), total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), alkaline phosphatase (AKP) activity, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels (p < 0.05), while significantly reducing cholesterol (CHO) levels (p < 0.05). Transport stress adversely affected the intestinal health of finishing pigs, as evidenced by a decrease in intestinal villus height (0.05 < p < 0.1), a condition ameliorated by PMS supplementation. Additionally, transported pigs exhibited a higher drip loss24h in LM (p < 0.05), which was also alleviated through PMS supplementation. In conclusion, PMS supplementation mitigates transport stress and improves meat quality in finishing pigs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional Strategies for Healthy Pork Meat)
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18 pages, 1016 KiB  
Article
Effect of Olive Cake in Bísaro Pig Feed on Physicochemical Composition and Fatty Acid Profile of Three Different Muscles of Dry-Cured Shoulder
by Ana Leite, Lia Vasconcelos, Sandra Rodrigues, Etelvina Pereira, Rubén Domínguez-Valencia, José Manuel Lorenzo and Alfredo Teixeira
Animals 2024, 14(11), 1697; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14111697 - 5 Jun 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1543
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess the following effects: (1) the inclusion of olive in the animal’s diet on the dry-cured shoulder; (2) the effect of curing on three different muscles (infraspinatus, supraspinatus, and subscapular); (3) the effect of different curing [...] Read more.
The purpose of this study was to assess the following effects: (1) the inclusion of olive in the animal’s diet on the dry-cured shoulder; (2) the effect of curing on three different muscles (infraspinatus, supraspinatus, and subscapular); (3) the effect of different curing times (fresh shoulder, 6 months curing, and 12 months curing). For this purpose, forty shoulders were used, followed by a cold nitrite-free curing process with controlled humidity and temperature, according to the flowchart of a company that implements highly stringent standards in terms of food safety and quality. Samples were evaluated for their physicochemical composition and lipid profile. All the physicochemical composition parameters were significantly different (p < 0.001) in the three muscles studied. As might be expected, the curing times from the fresh product to the final product were also significantly different for all the parameters studied in this work. Regarding the inclusion of olive cake, it was found that treatment with a base diet + 10% exhausted olive cake (T4) showed higher levels for the parameters NaCl, collagen, and total fat. As for the fatty acid profile, in general, the olive did not influence the final product. On the other hand, we found that the type of muscle and the curing time of the cured shoulder had a significant influence on the fatty acid profile. We should also point out that there are significant differences in the interaction between curing time and muscle, particularly in saturated fatty acids (SFAs), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), as well as the lipid quality indices. Canonical discriminant analysis is viable for evaluating the evolution of the curing process, discriminating and classifying curing times, and evaluating the muscles of the Bísaro pork shoulder. Also, the introduction of olive cake into the animal diet does not affect the final product obtained. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional Strategies for Healthy Pork Meat)
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17 pages, 2227 KiB  
Article
Effects of Feeding Corn Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles on Muscle Quality Traits and Lipidomics Profiling of Finishing Pigs
by Zhizhuo Ma, Chunsheng Wang, Bo Wang, Linfang Yao, Baohua Kong, Anshan Shan, Jianping Li and Qingwei Meng
Animals 2023, 13(24), 3848; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13243848 - 14 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1594
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of adding corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) to the diet on the meat quality, chemical composition, fatty acid composition, and lipidomics profiling in the longissimus thoracis (LT) of finishing pigs. Twenty-four healthy crossbred pigs (average body [...] Read more.
This study investigated the effects of adding corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) to the diet on the meat quality, chemical composition, fatty acid composition, and lipidomics profiling in the longissimus thoracis (LT) of finishing pigs. Twenty-four healthy crossbred pigs (average body weight 61.23 ± 3.25 kg) were randomly divided into two groups with three replicates per group and four pigs per pen. The control group (CON) was fed a basal diet, and the DDGS group was fed an experimental diet with 30% DDGS. The results show that adding DDGS to the diet increases the yellowness (b*), chroma (C*), linoleic acid (C18:2n-6) percentages, polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) percentages and iodine value of LT (p < 0.05). Based on LC–ESI–MS/MS, 1456 lipids from 6 classes or 44 subclasses in LT were analyzed, and 50 differential lipids were observed. Triglyceride (TG) with C18:2n-6 side chains and ceramide alpha-hydroxy fatty acid-sphingosine (Cer–AS) contents increased significantly, and the decrease in multiple glycerophospholipids (GPs) content may be related to differences in the glycerophospholipid metabolic pathway. Correlation analysis suggests that triglycerides with C18:2n-6 side chains may be one of the reasons for the changes in b* and C* values in the LT. In conclusion, feeding DDGS affects the meat quality and fatty acid composition and may affect the lipid profile in the LT of finishing pigs by regulating lipid metabolism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional Strategies for Healthy Pork Meat)
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16 pages, 310 KiB  
Article
Effects of Supplementing Growing–Finishing Crossbred Pigs with Glycerin, Vitamin C and Niacinamide on Carcass Characteristics and Meat Quality
by Linglan Deng, Shaobin Hao, Wanjie Zou, Panting Wei, Wenchen Sun, Huadong Wu, Wei Lu and Yuyong He
Animals 2023, 13(23), 3635; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13233635 - 24 Nov 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1863
Abstract
The objective of this study was to determine the influence of supplementing the diet of growing–finishing pigs with glycerin and/or a mixture of vitamin C and niacinamide on carcass traits and pork quality. Eighty-four weaned piglets with an initial average body weight of [...] Read more.
The objective of this study was to determine the influence of supplementing the diet of growing–finishing pigs with glycerin and/or a mixture of vitamin C and niacinamide on carcass traits and pork quality. Eighty-four weaned piglets with an initial average body weight of 20.35 ± 2.14 kg were assigned, at random, to four groups for a 103-day feeding experiment: control; glycerin-supplemented group; vitamin C and niacinamide-supplemented group; and glycerin, vitamin C and niacinamide-supplemented group. At the end of the experiment, three pigs/group were randomly selected and slaughtered, and samples were collected for analysis. The results indicated that supplementing crossbred pigs with glycerin, vitamin C and niacinamide simultaneously increased the redness (a*) value (p < 0.05), glycerol content (p < 0.01) and myristoleic acid content (p < 0.01) in the longissimus dorsi and tended to increase the level of flavor amino acids, linoleic acid, linolenic acid and erucic acid, as well as the percentage and density of type I myofibers in the longissimus dorsi and the semimembranosus muscle. Glycerin had an influence (p < 0.01) on the erucic acid content in the longissimus dorsi and the semimembranosus muscle, and vitamin C and niacinamide had an interaction effect (p < 0.05) on the redness (a*) value of the longissimus dorsi. Glycerin, vitamin C and niacinamide supplementation in the diet of crossbred pigs improved the color, flavor and nutritional value of pork, which contributed to an increased intent to purchase this product. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional Strategies for Healthy Pork Meat)
15 pages, 339 KiB  
Article
Fatty Acid Profile and Lipid Quality Indexes of the Meat and Backfat from Porkers Supplemented with EM Bokashi Probiotic
by Zuzanna Goluch, Artur Rybarczyk, Ewa Poławska and Gabriela Haraf
Animals 2023, 13(20), 3298; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13203298 - 23 Oct 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1915
Abstract
The study aimed to assess the effect of supplementation of pig diet with the Bokashi probiotic on the fatty acid profile of longissimus lumborum (LL) muscles and backfat. The research involved 120 hybrid pigs deriving from Naïma sows and P-76 boars. [...] Read more.
The study aimed to assess the effect of supplementation of pig diet with the Bokashi probiotic on the fatty acid profile of longissimus lumborum (LL) muscles and backfat. The research involved 120 hybrid pigs deriving from Naïma sows and P-76 boars. The experimental group’s pigs received probiotics in their feed (containing Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus casei, and Lactobacillus plantarum). To analyze the fatty acid profile in intramuscular fat (IMF) of LL and backfat, 24 pig carcasses from the control group and 26 from the probiotic-supplemented group were randomly selected. Probiotic supplementation increased the Atherogenic Index, reduced the proportion of C20:4, and increased C12:0 and C18:2 n-6 in IMF LL, without affecting ΣSFA, ΣMUFA, and ΣPUFA. In backfat, probiotic supplementation decreased C18:1 and C18:2 n-6 proportion and increased C18:3 n-3, C20:3 n-6, and C20:4 n-6. These changes resulted in significantly higher ΣMUFA, ΣPUFA, PUFA Σn-3/Σn-6, and lower Saturation Index (SI). From a consumer health and technological point of view, probiotic supplementation improved the lipid profile of backfat to a greater extent than LL muscle. Bokashi, at a dose of 3 g/kg of feed in the last stage of pig production, had no significant effect on the fatty acid profile of the meat. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional Strategies for Healthy Pork Meat)

Review

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14 pages, 1160 KiB  
Review
Improving Fatty Acid Profile in Native Breed Pigs Using Dietary Strategies: A Review
by Ainhoa Sarmiento-García and Ceferina Vieira-Aller
Animals 2023, 13(10), 1696; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13101696 - 19 May 2023
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2694
Abstract
Meat from native-bred animals is growing in popularity worldwide due to consumers’ perception of its higher quality than meat from industrial farms. The improvement in indigenous pork has been related to increased intramuscular and unsaturated fat and a reduced saturated fat content resulting [...] Read more.
Meat from native-bred animals is growing in popularity worldwide due to consumers’ perception of its higher quality than meat from industrial farms. The improvement in indigenous pork has been related to increased intramuscular and unsaturated fat and a reduced saturated fat content resulting in a healthy product with enhanced sensorial attributes. This manuscript aims to provide an overview offering useful information about the fat content and the fatty acid profile of different autochthonous pork. Fat content and fatty acid profile are greater in native than in industrial pig breeds, even though certain factors, such as genetics, nutrition, farming system, age, or slaughter weight, may influence these variations. Among that, studies on dietary strategies to improve these parameters have been evaluated. According to the results obtained, many natural ingredients could have a positive effect on the lipid profile when added to indigenous pigs’ diets. This fact may promote autochthonous pork intake. Nevertheless, there is a wide range of potential natural ingredients to be added to the indigenous pig diet that needs to be evaluated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional Strategies for Healthy Pork Meat)
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