Sixty pigs were used to investigate the effects of two levels of dietary ractopamine (RAC; 0 and 20 mg/kg) and three sex types (SEX; boars, gilts, and barrows) on performance over the live weight range 60 to 90 kg. Pigs were housed in individual pens and allowed ad libitum access to a diet containing 3.466 Mcal of DE and 10.7 g of lysine/kg. Control boars exhibited faster and more efficient growth and deposited more protein and less fat than gilts or barrows. The RAC increased ADG by 17 and 21% in gilts and barrows but not in boars. Feed intake was not altered by dietary RAC. Dietary RAC increased the rate of protein deposition by 15, 42, and 41% in boars, gilts, and barrows, respectively. Nevertheless, the daily rate of protein deposition was greatest in RAC-treated boars. The RAC tended to reduce the daily rate of fat deposition by 21% in boars but not in gilts or barrows. Carcass protein content increased by 5% and fat content decreased by 8% in response to RAC. These improvements in carcass composition occurred without compromising meat quality. Results show that RAC is a potent stimulator of protein deposition in finishing pigs. However, increased protein deposition is not necessarily at the expense of fat deposition.

Interactions between the beta-adrenoceptor agonist cimaterol and beta-adrenoceptors on rat skeletal muscle membranes were examined in two studies. In Exp. 1, muscle samples from eight Sprague-Dawley rats (female, approximately 200 g) were used for competition binding and autoradiographic studies using [125I]cyanopindolol (ICYP) as a radioligand. The affinities or dissociation constants for binding (KD values) for cimaterol in plantaris and soleus muscles were .68 and .92 microM, respectively. Muscle areas stained for succinic dehydrogenase had propranolol-resistant ICYP binding sites; cimaterol did not seem to compete for these sites. In Exp. 2, 60 Sprague-Dawley rats (female, approximately 218 g) were fed 0 or 10 ppm of cimaterol in rat diet that was ground. Groups were killed after 1, 3, 7, 14, or 28 d of treatment. Cimaterol increased BW gain up to 14 d after commencement of treatment, with little or no improvement thereafter. Enhanced weight gain in skeletal muscles also occurred up to 14 d of cimaterol treatment. Densities of beta-adrenoceptors in plantaris and soleus muscle membrane homogenates were estimated using a radioligand binding assay with ICYP. A significant reduction in the number of binding sites (Bmax) was observed after 3 d of cimaterol treatment in plantaris muscle without a change in the KD of ICYP binding. The percentage reductions in Bmax were 26.8, 42.2, 37.7, and 37.8% at 3, 7, 14, and 28 d after cimaterol administration, respectively. In the soleus muscle, significant reductions (44.1 and 29.8%) in Bmax were observed after 3 and 14 d of cimaterol treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)