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The impact of genetic groups (Alentejano and F1 Landrace x Large White pigs) and body weight (90, 120 and 160kg) on blood metabolites

Publication . Amaral, Andreia; Cordeiro, Daniela; Bettencourt, Carlos; Moreira, Olga; Bressan, Maria Cristina; Belo, Ana Teresa; Boari, Cleube Andrade; van Harten, Sofia; Gama, Luis; Almeida, Joao Marques

This research work was carried out with the goal of studying the impact of genetic groups-GG (Alentejano-AL, n = 30, and F1 Landrace*Large White-F1 pigs, n = 30) and body weight-BW (90, 120 and 160 kg) on plasma metabolites. Blood parameters were correlated with animal production traits, carcass measurements and meat quality. Individual records for feed conversion index (CI) and daily feed intake were recorded on a weekly basis, for a period of 15 weeks. Compared to the F1, AL pigs displayed (P <0.05) higher average levels of glucose, total cholesterol-TC, triglycerides-TG, HDL-cholesterol (HDL), LDL-cholesterol (LDL) and total protein (TP), by about 14.0, 21.0, 42.2, 18.2, 21.2 and 5.0%, respectively. AL pigs (120–160 kg) showed higher TG levels, when compared to the values at 90 kg (2.6 and 1.6 times higher). High TG levels occurred when animals exhibited high daily feed intake (0.450 and 1.810 kg, for AL and F1 pigs). In the AL high TG levels were correlated with high fat deposition, at 120 kg (r = 0.51). At 90 kg, however, high fat deposition was related to HDL (r = 0.59), a lipoprotein associated to cholesterol transport. A progressive increase in ALB was found in the F1, as expected, but AL pigs showed higher and similar ALB means at 90, 120 and 160 kg. As for meat color, AL pigs with high cholesterol were negatively associated to L*, while high TG levels were associated to low b*. Animals with high ALB produced more tender meats (low shear force). Pigs with higher levels of lipid metabolism showed Longissimus thoracis muscles with decreased luminosity and yellowness (meats of a less attractive appearance). However, these meats were tenderer.

2022-01Journal article

Open access