Carcass and Pork Quality and Gut Environment of Pigs Fed a Diet Supplemented with the Bokashi Probiotic

Fatty Acid Profile and Lipid Quality Indexes of the Meat and Backfat from Porkers Supplemented with EM Bokashi Probiotic

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.

Improving meat qualities of pigs after deworming against ascariasis with administered glycyrrhizic acid

The present paper describes the effect of glycyrrhizic acid contained in licorice roots on the quality of pork produced. The study uses advanced research methods as ion-exchange chromatography, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, drying of an average sample of muscle, and pressing method. The paper set out to investigate the effect of glycyrrhizic acid on the pig meat quality after deworming. Of particular concern is the animal body restoration after deworming that results in metabolic disorders. The nutrient content of meat reduces, the output of bones and tendons rises. This is the first report on the use of glycyrrhizic acid to increase the meat quality of pigs after deworming. The findings from this study indicated higher pork quality resulted from a favorable effect of GA on the chemical and amino acid composition of meat. The resulting data demonstrated that glycyrrhizic acid in the piglets' diet had a beneficial effect on the biochemical processes in their body. The main scientific provisions of this paper and its findings have several practical implications for veterinary specialists. They can also be recommended for the educational process. Another possible implication is the development of new drugs, methods, and treatment plans.

Probiotics and Synbiotics Addition to Bama Mini-Pigs' Diet Improve Carcass Traits and Meat Quality by Altering Plasma Metabolites and Related Gene Expression of Offspring

This study evaluated the effects of maternal probiotics and synbiotics addition on several traits and parameters in offspring. A total of 64 Bama mini pigs were randomly allocated into the control (basal diet), antibiotic (50 g/t virginiamycin), probiotics (200 mL/day probiotics), or synbiotics (500 g/t xylo-oligosaccharides and 200 mL/day probiotics) group and fed with experimental diets during pregnancy and lactation. After weaning, two piglets per litter and eight piglets per group were selected and fed with a basal diet. Eight pigs per group were selected for analysis at 65, 95, and 125 days of age. The results showed that the addition of probiotics increased the average daily feed intake of the pigs during the 66- to 95-day-old periods and backfat thickness at 65 and 125 days of age, and that the addition of synbiotics increased backfat thickness and decreased muscle percentage and loin-eye area at 125 days of age. The addition of maternal probiotics increased the cooking yield and pH45min value at 65 and 95 days of age, respectively, the addition of synbiotics increased the meat color at 95 days of age, and the addition of probiotics and synbiotics decreased drip loss and shear force in 65- and 125-day-old pigs, respectively. However, maternal antibiotic addition increased shear force in 125-day-old pigs. Dietary probiotics and synbiotics addition in sows' diets increased several amino acids (AAs), including total AAs, histidine, methionine, asparagine, arginine, and leucine, and decreased glycine, proline, isoleucine, α-aminoadipic acid, α-amino-n-butyric acid, β-alanine, and γ-amino-n-butyric acid in the plasma and longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle of offspring at different stages. In the LT muscle fatty acid (FA) analysis, saturated FA (including C16:0, C17:0, and C20:0) and C18:1n9t contents were lower, and C18:2n6c, C16:1, C20:1, and unsaturated FA contents were higher in the probiotics group. C10:0, C12:0, and C14:0 contents were higher in 65-day-old pigs, and C20:1 and C18:1n9t contents were lower in the synbiotics group in 95- and 125-day-old pigs, respectively. The plasma biochemical analysis revealed that the addition of maternal probiotics and synbiotics decreased plasma cholinesterase, urea nitrogen, and glucose levels in 95-day-old pigs, and that the addition of synbiotics increased plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and total cholesterol concentrations in 65-day-old pigs and triglyceride concentration in 125-day-old pigs. The addition of maternal probiotics and synbiotics regulated muscle fiber type, myogenic regulation, and lipid metabolism-related gene expression of LT muscle in offspring. In conclusion, the addition of maternal probiotics and synbiotics improved the piglet feed intake and altered the meat quality parameters, plasma metabolites, and gene expression related to meat quality.