Dietary Malic Acid Supplementation Induces Skeletal Muscle Fiber-Type Transition of Weaned Piglets and Further Improves Meat Quality of Finishing Pigs

et al. 2022

Antioxidants

Self Cite

Yeast β-glucan is a natural antioxidant and has been reported to improve growth performance of piglets, but its application in improving pork quality is limited. This study investigated the effects of dietary yeast β-glucan supplementation on meat quality, antioxidant capacity and gut microbiota of finishing pigs. In a 40-day experiment, ninety finishing pigs (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire, 70.47 ± 0.04 kg) were randomly allocated into five treatments including a basal diet supplemented with 0, 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg yeast β-glucan. Results showed that yeast β-glucan significantly increased pH45 min (linear and quadratic, p < 0.01) and a*45 min (linear, p < 0.05), and reduced cooking loss (linear, p < 0.05) and drip loss (quadratic, p < 0.05) of meat in finishing pigs. Importantly, the 200 mg/kg group exhibited the highest values of pH45 min (p < 0.01) and the lowest values of drip loss (p < 0.05), accompanied by a decreased lactate content (p < 0.05) and glycolytic potential (p < 0.05). Dietary supplementation of 200 mg/kg yeast β-glucan markedly increased catalase (CAT) (p < 0.05), superoxide dismutase (SOD) (p < 0.05) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) (p < 0.01) activities in skeletal muscle. Moreover, WPS-2 abundance was decreased significantly in colonic digesta by 200 mg/kg yeast β-glucan and exhibited a positive association with muscle lactate content and drip loss. Together, dietary 200 mg/kg yeast β-glucan supplementation effectively improved pH value and the water-holding capacity of fresh meat through reducing muscle postmortem glycolysis, increasing antioxidant capacity and altering the gut microbiota composition of finishing pigs.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Dietary Yeast β-Glucan Supplementation on Meat Quality, Antioxidant Capacity and Gut Microbiota of Finishing Pigs

Guo

et al. 2022

Antioxidants

Self Cite

“…The initial and final weight was recorded, and cooking loss was determined by calculating weight change percentage. Then, the dried muscle sample was ground into powder and analyzed for intramuscular (IMF) fat content, as previously described [ 24 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They were then cooled to room temperature, and samples were trimmed to uniform cubes of about 1 cm 3 . Texture indexes including shear force, hardness, adhesiveness, cohesiveness, springiness, gumminess and chewiness were measured using a Texture Analyzer (TMS-Touch, Food Technology Corp., Sterling, VA, USA), as described previously [ 24 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another study demonstrated a negative association between muscle malic acid and obesity in rabbits [ 23 ]. Our previous study revealed that piglets that were fed L-malic acid during the weaning period had an increased number of oxidative muscle fibers, subsequently improving the water holding capacity of pork without any effects on carcass traits [ 24 ]. However, to date, our understanding of the effects of dietary L-malic acid supplementation in finishing pigs on meat quality is still limited.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Effects of Dietary L-malic Acid Supplementation on Meat Quality, Antioxidant Capacity and Muscle Fiber Characteristics of Finishing Pigs

Yan

et al. 2022

Foods

Self Cite

L-malic acid is a vital intermediate in the citric acid cycle and has been reported to improve the antioxidant capacity and aerobic oxidation of weaned piglets; however, its application in finishing pigs is limited at present. This study explored the effects of dietary L-malic acid supplementation on the carcass traits and meat quality of finishing pigs. In a 45-day experiment, 192 Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire pigs (75.01 ± 0.51 kg) were divided into four treatments, i.e., a basal diet supplemented with 0, 0.5%, 1%, and 2% L-malic acid complex. The results showed that L-malic acid supplementation had no effects on the growth performance of finishing pigs. Importantly, L-malic acid significantly increased redness (a*) value at 24-h postmortem (quadratic, p < 0.05) and tended to increase the proportion of oxymyoglobin (OMb) (quadratic, p = 0.10), as well as the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) activity (quadratic, p = 0.08) in the longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle. Further, dietary supplementation of 1% L-malic acid markedly increased the protein expression level of slow skeletal myosin heavy chain (MyHC) in the LD muscle (p < 0.05). Moreover, 0.5% and 2% L-malic acid supplementation significantly increased carcass length and loin eye area (p < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary L-malic acid could effectively improve the meat color and carcass traits of finishing pigs.

“…Meat with a high content of type I myofibers has higher water retention and tenderness and a brighter red color, and vice versa for meat with type II myofibers. It was reported that myofiber types could be converted as follows: I ↔ IIa ↔ IIx ↔ IIb, which were affected by breed, feeding model, sex, age and nutrition (9)(10)(11)(12)(13). Therefore, adjusting myofiber type transformation is an important way to improve meat quality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lactobacillus improves meat quality in Sunit sheep by affecting mitochondrial biogenesis through the AMPK pathway

Yan²,

Bai³

et al. 2022

Front. Nutr.

Sunit sheep are famous for their high meat quality, but the meat quality of them has declined due to the change in feeding methods. Lactobacillus has a variety of probiotic effects and is widely used in animal diets to optimize meat quality. This study aimed to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation with different levels of Lactobacillus on meat quality. A total of 24 3-month-old Sunit sheep with an average body weight of 19.03 ± 3.67 kg were randomly divided into control (C), 1% (L1), 2% (L2), and 3% Lactobacillus groups (L3), with 6 sheep in each group. Myofiber characteristics, meat quality, and metabolic enzyme activity were detected. Moreover, the regulatory mechanism of Lactobacillus on meat quality was explored by using Western blotting and real-time Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The results showed that dietary addition of Lactobacillus decreased LDH activity in the Biceps femoris of Sunit sheep (P < 0.05). Compared to the other groups, the 1% Lactobacillus group showed the conversion of myofibers from the glycolytic to the oxidative type, and the increasing b* values (P < 0.05), decreasing shear force and cooking loss of meat (P < 0.05) and the relative gene and protein expression levels of AMPK, PGC-1α, NRF1, TFAM, and COX IV (P < 0.05) in the Biceps femoris were also increased in the 1% Lactobacillus group. Therefore, the addition of Lactobacillus to the diet of Sunit sheep could regulate the AMPK signaling pathway to promote myofiber type conversion, which improves meat quality. This study provided a theoretical and data basis for improving the meat quality of sheep and supplied a novel way of applying Lactobacillus.