Boar Taint: Biological Causes and Practical Means to Alleviate It

Squires, E. J.; Bonneau, Michel

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-384731-7.00007-6

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Additionally, only four pigs, all from the same two litters, presented (borderline) higher than 1000 ng/g AND concentrations. Genetic background may partly explain the individual variation in AND content [ 76 , 77 ]. According to Weiler et al [ 12 ], although low boar taint sire lines are now available, much of the propensity for commercial slaughtered pigs to exhibit boar taint comes from the dam lines, which still need to be selected against boar taint.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similar to AND, fat SKA levels tend to increase with age due to the inhibition of SKA degradation by AND and other testicular steroids [ 6 , 9 ]. Steroid hormones may also affect the liver clearance of SKA [ 77 ], and reports of moderate genetic correlations between AND and SKA suggest that some genes may affect both traits [ 9 ]. In our trial, increasing levels of testosterone from the C to IExp group (see Table 2 ) were associated to increasing levels of AND and SKA (see Table 6 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Outdoor Finishing of Intact Male Portuguese Alentejano Pigs on a Sustainable High-Fiber Diet: Impacts on Blood, Growth, Carcass, Meat Quality and Boar Taint Compounds

Martins,

Varino,

Charneca

et al. 2023

Animals

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This trial evaluated the effect of sex on the blood, growth, carcass, meat quality, and boar taint compounds in male Alentejano (AL) pigs (n = 30). From ~40 to 130 kg LW, castrated (C) and intact pigs (I and IExp groups) were fed commercial diets ad libitum. Between ~130 and 160 kg (slaughter), C and I pigs continued on commercial diets, while IExp were fed an experimental diet containing locally produced pulses and by-products aimed at reducing boar taint. At ~160 kg, blood urea levels were higher in IExp than C pigs, triacylglycerols were lower in both intact groups, and cortisol was lower in IExp. IExp pigs exhibited faster growth, improved feed conversion ratio, carcass higher commercial yield and leaner meat than C pigs. The loin intramuscular fat in intact pigs was lower, less saturated and more polyunsaturated, while total collagen was higher. Fat androstenone content was higher in intact pigs and skatole content was similar across treatments, although they were below threshold values for consumer detection. Finally, although boar taint compounds were low in intact AL pigs raised outdoors, adding pulses and by-products to the experimental diet did not result in a reduction in fat skatole content compared to pigs fed the commercial diet.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Outdoor Finishing of Intact Male Portuguese Alentejano Pigs on a Sustainable High-Fiber Diet: Impacts on Blood, Growth, Carcass, Meat Quality and Boar Taint Compounds

Martins,

Varino,

Charneca

et al. 2023

Animals

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“…These concerns have increased over the past decade with particular criticism focusing on the lack of pain management protocols implemented with husbandry practices such as castration (2,4,5). Castration is commonly performed on US swine farms and in many other countries to improve meat quality by reducing androsterone and skatole concentrations (6), both of which are responsible for the production of boar taint. Boar taint is an unpleasant odor or taste in the meat that can be detected by consumers during the process of cooking or eating pork products.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficacy of transdermal flunixin in mitigating castration pain in piglets

Lopez-Soriano

Merenda²,

Trindade³

et al. 2022

Front. Pain Res.

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Castration is a painful procedure performed in swine and to date, there are no approved products available in the US to alleviate this pain. Previous work evaluating the efficacy of flunixin meglumine has shown promise in mitigating pain in swine, but no work to date has evaluated transdermal flunixin efficacy in mitigating castration pain in piglets. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of transdermal flunixin (TDF) in mitigating castration pain utilizing a previously validated behavioral pain scale. A total of 98 Large White x Duroc cross male piglets from 98 litters were enrolled in this study. Piglets were randomly assigned to the following treatments: (1) TDF plus castration (3.33 mg/kg; CF; n = 24), (2) TDF plus sham castration (3.33 mg/kg; SF; n = 26), (3) topical physiological saline plus sham castration (S; n = 24), or (4) topical physiological saline plus castration (C; n = 24). All treatments were administered 24 h prior to castration. Four-min continuous videos clips were collected 24 h before castration (−24 h), immediately post-castration (0 h), and 24 h post-castration (+24 h). Video clips were then observed and scored by one trained observer using a 4-point pain scale (score 0–3) encompassing the five behavioral domains of the pig acute pain scale (UPAPS). Total pain score averages were analyzed as repeated measures by analysis of variance applying a multilevel model. The UPAPS effectively distinguished varying levels of painful and non-painful states in castrated piglets as observed via deviations in total pain scores across timepoints (P < 0.0001), treatment (P < 0.001) and treatment*timepoint (P < 0.0001). Immediately post-castration (0 h), piglets in the C and CF group demonstrated greater total average pain scores than piglets in the S (P < 0.03) and SF (P < 0.01) groups and castrated piglets treated with TDF demonstrated lower total pain scores (P < 0.05) and required less analgesic intervention immediately post-castration compared to castrated piglets receiving no treatment (P < 0.0001). For C group 54% required rescue analgesia compared to 29%, 8% and 0% for CF, SF and S piglets respectively. Future work should evaluate implementation of this pain management protocol on a wide scale commercial farm setting.

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“…In contrast, boar taint has been widely investigated. Boar taint is an objectionable odor often perceived when cooking meat from entire male pigs [15,16], and its origin has been associated with androstenone and skatole. Androstenone is a testicular steroid produced in Leydig cells with a urine-like smell.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is reduced to α-androstenol and β-androstenol, which are excreted in saliva, acting as pheromones with a role in the pigs' reproductive function [17,18]. Skatole is a tryptophan breakdown product that exhibits an intense fecal odor [15]. Even though, in theory, androstenone should only be found in males, there are reports that it is also found in females [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Immunocastration on Culled Sows—A Preliminary Study on Reproductive Tract, Carcass Traits, and Meat Quality

Botelho-Fontela,

Paixão,

Pereira-Pinto

et al. 2023

Veterinary Sciences

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The Bísaro pig is a Portuguese autochthonous breed greatly appreciated for its meat quality and is mainly reared outdoors. Immunocastration could be a solution to avoid undesirable pregnancies and boar taint in cull sows. The present study tested three immunocastration protocols (with Improvac®) according to their reproductive cycle. The first inoculation was performed two weeks after farrowing (IM1, n = 5), at the beginning of estrus (IM2, n = 5), and one week after the end of estrus (IM3, n = 5), followed by a second administration four weeks apart. A control group (C, n = 5) was also included in the same housing conditions. The sample collection included the reproductive tract for morphometric evaluation, neck fat for the quantification of boar taint compounds, and a portion of the Longissimus thoracis et lumborum for meat quality trait assessment. The reproductive tracts from intact sows (C) were significantly heavier compared to the immunocastrated groups (p < 0.05) (1.403 kg C to 0.508 kg IM1, 0.590 kg IM2, and 0.599 kg IM3), suggesting the regression of the reproductive tract to nonstimulated conditions due to immunization against GnRH. The IM1 group exhibited significantly smaller reproductive tract measurements compared to group C for most of the evaluated segments (p < 0.05). No marked differences were observed in the meat quality traits. Therefore, immunocastration can be used in culling sows to avoid ovarian activity, and it is not detrimental to pork quality traits.

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Boar Taint: Biological Causes and Practical Means to Alleviate It

Cited by 7 publications

References 4 publications

Outdoor Finishing of Intact Male Portuguese Alentejano Pigs on a Sustainable High-Fiber Diet: Impacts on Blood, Growth, Carcass, Meat Quality and Boar Taint Compounds

Outdoor Finishing of Intact Male Portuguese Alentejano Pigs on a Sustainable High-Fiber Diet: Impacts on Blood, Growth, Carcass, Meat Quality and Boar Taint Compounds

Efficacy of transdermal flunixin in mitigating castration pain in piglets

Effect of Immunocastration on Culled Sows—A Preliminary Study on Reproductive Tract, Carcass Traits, and Meat Quality

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