Search Results (2)

In order to cope with the limited supply of feed for global animal production, there is a pressing need to explore alternative feed resources. Orange pulp, a by-product of agriculture and industry, has shown potential to positively or neutrally impact pig productive performance when included in their diet. However, there is a lack of research on the effects of fermented navel orange pulp (FNOP) on pig growth and productive performance. This study aimed to investigate the effects of FNOP as a dry matter substitute on pig’s growth performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality, meat nutritional value, and serum biochemical indicators. The experiment involved 128 finishing Tibetan pigs, divided into four feed treatment groups, with varying levels (0%, 5%, 10% and 15%) of FNOP replacing dry matter in the basal diet. The results indicate that substituting 5% to 15% FNOP had no adverse effects on pig growth performance. However, at a 15% substitution rate, there was a decrease in serum growth hormone and IGF-1 levels, along with an increase in the feed-to-gain ratio. A 10% FNOP replacement notably increased the loin-eye muscle area of pigs. Additionally, 5% and 10% FNOP substitutions reduced the drip loss of pork. The study also found that substituting 5% to 15% FNOP increased unsaturated fatty acids and umami nucleotide contents in pork and raised serum total protein and uric acid (nucleotide-metabolism-related product) levels. These findings suggest that moderate FNOP substitution might improve meat quality, nutritional value, and maintain growth and productive performance in Tibetan pigs by improving protein synthesis and nucleotide metabolism, while also reducing feed costs. The optimal substitution ratio identified was 10%. Full article

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of tea powder in diets on the growth performance, meat quality, muscular amino acid, fatty acid profile, and serum biochemical indices of pigs. A total of 120 local Chinese pigs (Tibetan × Bama miniature pigs) were randomly assigned to five treatment groups, each with six pens and four pigs per pen. During a 60-day experiment, these groups of pigs were fed the normal diet and the diet supplemented with 1%, 2%, 4%, and 6% tea powder, respectively. The results showed that the supplementation of tea powder did not affect the growth performance of pigs. However, the dietary tea powder inclusion decreased (p < 0.05) the average fat thickness, total fat, and abdominal fat, and increased (p < 0.05) the total muscle as well. In addition, the dietary 2% tea powder decreased (p < 0.05) the muscle lightness (L*) and yellowness (b*). Compared with the control group, the dietary supplementation with 1%, 2%, and 4% tea powder raised (p < 0.05) the total amino acids (TAA) and essential amino acids (EAA), and dietary 4% and 6% tea powder increased (p < 0.05) the C20:5n3 in the muscle tissue. Furthermore, the serum lipid metabolism-related biochemical indices and mRNA expression levels were improved with the addition of tea powder. These results indicated that dietary tea powder might improve the carcass traits and meat quality of the Chinese native finishing pigs, but it does not affect their growth performance. Tea powder could be fully developed and reasonably applied as a dietary supplement. Full article