Effects of dietary protein levels on production performance, meat quality and flavor of fattening pigs

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary protein level on the production performance, slaughter performance, meat quality, and flavor of finishing pigs. Twenty-seven Duroc♂ × Bamei♀ binary cross-bred pigs (60.86 ± 2.52 kg body weight) were randomly assigned to three groups, each group has three replicates, and each replicate has three pigs. Three groups of finishing pigs were fed 16.0, 14.0, and 12.0% crude protein levels diets, and these low-protein diets were supplemented with four limiting amino acids (lysine, methionine, threonine and tryptophan). The results showed that the pigs fed low-protein diets increased (P < 0.05) loin eye muscle area, and reduced (P < 0.05) heart weight, lung weight. The feed-weight ratio of the 14.0% protein group was reduced (P > 0.05); Dietary protein levels significantly affected the luminance (L24h), yellowness (b45min and b24h) (P < 0.05), reduced shear stress, muscle water loss, drip loss, the levels of crude fat (P < 0.05), and increased marbling score (P < 0.05) in the muscle of finishing pigs; The low-protein diets improved PUFA/TFA, PUFA/SFA (P > 0.05), and increased hexanal, E-2-heptenal, 1-octen-3-ol, EAA/TAA in the muscle of finishing pigs (P < 0.05); The results indicated that reduced the crude protein levels of dietary by 2.0–4.0%, and supplementation with four balanced limiting amino acids had no significant effects on the production performance and slaughter performance of finishing pigs, and could effectively improve meat quality and flavor.

Comprehensive Analysis of Transcriptome and Metabolome Reveals Regulatory Mechanism of Intramuscular Fat Content in Beef Cattle

“…Creatine improved the growth performance and meat quality of fattened pigs by delaying glycolysis . Lysine is a restricted amino acid, and supplementation with lysine had no significant effect on the production and slaughter performance of fat pigs and could improve meat quality and flavor . Meanwhile, glutamine uptake and catabolism is required for myofibroblast formation and persistence .…”

“…18 Lysine is a restricted amino acid, and supplementation with lysine had no significant effect on the production and slaughter performance of fat pigs and could improve meat quality and flavor. 19 Meanwhile, glutamine uptake and catabolism is required for myofibroblast formation and persistence. 20 These studies show that creatine, lysine, and glutamine play important roles in meat flavor formation.…”

Effects of Low Protein Diet on Production Performance and Intestinal Microbial Composition in Pigs

“…The pre-test period was 7 days, and the trial period was 65 days. The preparation of the diet accorded to the "Compound Feed for Piglets, Growing and Finishing Pigs" standard of low protein diets for growing and finishing pigs and previous research [24]. The pre-test period was 7 days, and the trial period was 60 days.…”

“…The average thicknesses of backfat, shear force, and meat color were measured according to the method of Wang et al [24]. The loin eye area and carcass length were determined according to the method of Wu [26] and Li et al [27].…”

“…Hexi pig is a local pig breed in the Hexi Corridor of Gansu Province, with bright red meat and an excellent taste [23]. Early research has shown that with the reduction of protein in feed and the supplementation of four essential amino acids, the production performance and meat flavor of fattening pigs are improved [24]. Therefore, this experiment takes Hexi pigs as the experimental object to explore the effects of different protein levels of feed on their production performance and intestinal microbial composition.…”