Performance and meat quality in pigs fed hydrolysable tannins from Tara spinosa

Translatomics reveals the role of dietary calcium addition in regulating muscle fat deposition in pigs

Intramuscular fat (IMF) in pork holds significant importance for economic performance within the pig industry and dietary calcium supplementation enhances the accumulation of intramuscular fat. Additionally, calcium ions inhibit translation and reduce protein synthesis. However, the mechanism by which calcium regulates IMF deposition in muscle through translation remains largely unknown. In this study, we compared the ribosome profiles of the longissimus dorsi muscles of Duroc × Landrace × Large white pigs from the normal calcium (NC) group or calcium supplement (HC) group by Ribo-seq, and RNA-seq. By integrating multiple-omics analysis, we further discovered 437 genes that were transcriptionally unchanged but translationally altered and these genes were significantly enriched in the oxidative phosphorylation signaling pathway. Furthermore, experimental data showed that inhibiting the expression of COX10 and mtND4L increased triglyceride accumulation in C2C12 cells, providing new targets for intramuscular fat deposition. Finally, this work links dietary calcium, translation regulation and IMF deposition, providing a new strategy for both meat quality and economic performance within the pig industry.

Dietary short-term supplementation of grape seed proanthocyanidin extract improves pork quality and promotes skeletal muscle fiber type conversion in finishing pigs

Plant extracts are commonly used as feed additives to improve pork quality. However, due to their high cost, shortening the duration of supplement use can help reduce production costs. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of grape seed proanthocyanidin extract (GSPE) on meat quality and muscle fiber characteristics of finishing pigs during the late stage of fattening, which was 30 days in our experimental design. The results indicated that short-term dietary supplementation of GSPE significantly reduced backfat thickness, but increased loin eye area and improved meat color and tenderness. Moreover, GSPE increased slow myosin heavy chain (MyHC) expression and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) activity, while decreasing fast MyHC expression and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in the Longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle. Additionally, GSPE increased the expression of Sirt1 and PGC-1α proteins in the LT muscle of finishing pigs and upregulated AMP-activated protein kinase α 1 (AMPKα1), AMPKα2, nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF1), and calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase β (CaMKKβ) mRNA expression levels. These findings suggest that even during the late stage of fattening, GSPE treatment can regulate skeletal muscle fiber type transformation through the AMPK signaling pathway, thereby affecting the muscle quality of finishing pigs. Therefore, by incorporating GSPE into the diet of pigs during the late stage of fattening, producers can enhance pork quality while reducing production costs.

Feeding pigs with hazelnut skin and addition of a concentrated phenolic extract from olive-milling wastewaters during pork processing: Effects on salami quality traits and acceptance by the consumers

Two groups of ten barrows received a conventional- (CTRL) or an experimental- (HZL) finishing diet containing 11% of hazelnut skin. From each barrow, two types of salami (namely, NITR, and PHEN) were obtained. NITR salami was added with E250 and E252. The latter were replaced by a phenolic concentrated extract from olive-milling wastewaters in PHEN salami. Salami fatty acids (FA), antioxidant capacity, lipid and color stability during refrigerated storage were assessed. A consumer test was also performed. Feeding strategy minimally affected the investigated parameters. PHEN salami had lower TBARS than NITR salami (P-value <0.001) during refrigerated storage despite comparable antioxidant capacity and similar PUFA content. Moreover, within CTRL group, lipid oxidation was lower in PHEN than NITR salami (P-value = 0.040). At the blind taste, dietary treatment did not affect salami sensorial properties nor consumer acceptance, whereas NITR salami showed better color (P-value = 0.036). Interestingly, HZL and PHEN salami showed improved sensorial properties and consumer acceptance after that consumers received information on salami origin.