The present study was aimed to compare the developmental changes of carcass composition, meat quality characteristics and organ weight in pigs of different breeds. Six pigs (sex balance) of each breed were slaughtered at 35, 80 and 125 days of age, respectively. The carcass was chilled and the left carcass side was dissected into bone, lean meat, fat and skin; additionally, organ weight and meat quality parameters were observed. Carcasses of the Jinhua pig were lighter ( P , 0.001), contained less lean meat percentage ( P , 0.01) and more carcass fat percentage ( P , 0.05) than did carcasses of the Landrace. L*-values were lower in Jinhua pigs than in Landrace at 125 days of age ( P , 0.05), but the Jinhua pig had higher a*-values compared with Landrace at the age of 80 days ( P , 0.01) and 125 days ( P , 0.01), respectively. In addition, Jinhua pigs showed lower colour scores ( P , 0.05), higher intramuscular fat (IMF) percentage ( P , 0.05), less marbling scores ( P , 0.05) and lower drip loss ( P , 0.05) than Landrace. For organ weight, Jinhua pigs had higher relative heart weight at the age of 80 days ( P , 0.05) and 125 days ( P , 0.001), and higher relative liver weight at 125 days of age ( P , 0.01) than that of Landrace. In addition, the relative kidney weight was heavier ( P , 0.001) in the Jinhua pig than in the Landrace during the whole experiment. These results indicated that developmental changes of carcass composition, meat quality parameters and organ weight displayed breed differences. Jinhua pigs were fatter than Landrace but the former had better quality characteristics in the meat.

This present study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of chitosan ( CS ) on carcass composition and meat quality in growing Huoyan geese. A total of 320 (28-day-old) growing Huoyan geese (sex balance) with similar body weight were randomly divided into the following 4 main groups: basal diet (control), basal diet + 100 mg/kg CS (CS 100 ), basal diet + 200 mg/kg CS (CS 200 ), and basal diet + 400 mg/kg CS (CS 400 ) groups. Each group includes 4 replicates with 20 geese per replicate, and the feeding trail lasted for 4 wk. The results showed that the geese in CS 200 group had lower abdominal fat percentage, b∗ value, shear force, crude fat content, and drip loss of breast and thigh muscle than those in the control group ( P < 0.05). In addition, the CS 200 group had higher glutamic acid, glycine, lysine, valine, total nonessential amino acids, total essential amino acids, total amino acids, C22:0, C16:1, C18:1, C20:1, C20:2, C20:5, total monounsaturated fatty acids concentration and polyunsaturated fatty acids ( PUFA ), and saturated fatty acids ( SFA ) ratio and lower total SFA, total PUFA concentration, and total n-6:n-3 ratio in breast muscle than the control group ( P < 0.05). Taken together, these results indicated that addition of 200 mg/kg CS improved meat quality in growing Huoyan geese through altering slaughter performance, meat traits, amino acids, and fatty acids composition.

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Colon cancer is still one of the most common causes of cancer in human and is characterized by lymphocyte infiltrates and originates from the epithelial cells found in the lining of colon or rectum of the gastrointestinal tract. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are composed of the multipotent stem cell group of stroma and can be differentiated as various cell lineages, such as fibroblasts, osteoblasts, and adipocytes. MSCs provide mechanical and structural support and have potential functions during tumor growth and metastasis. The efficacy of MSC-based therapies is partly dependent on the migration and homing of MSCs to tumors and metastatic sites. However, their migratory and engraftment potential is poorly understood. In this review, the characteristics and mechanisms of MSC's dynamic interaction with colon cancer were summarized, particularly the potential functions of MSCs on colon cancer, including its role in improving tumor growth and as a potential candidate for tumor therapy. Understanding MSC homing provides new insights into the manipulation of MSC and the improvement of their efficacy for colon cancer therapy.