Influence of acorn size on growth performance, carcass quality and fatty acid composition of subcutaneous and intramuscular fat from Iberian pigs fattened in confinement

Abstract

The main objective of this experiment was to asses the effect of acorn size consumed during the fattening period (90.1-137.9 kg) on growth performance, carcass characteristics and fat quality from Iberian pigs. Two groups of eight barrows were located in individual cages and fed ad libitum with acorns in confinement. One group of pigs received acorns of large size (average weight 4.26 g) and the other one acorns of small size (2.49 g). The pigs that received small acorns had lower average daily intake (5.5 kg) than those pigs given large acorns (5.7 kg) and consequently, weight average daily gain and carcass weight were significantly lower (0.7 vs 0.6 kg and 111.1 vs 106.2 kg respectively). The acorn size had not significant influence on major fatty acids proportions contained in subcutaneous fat and intramuscular Longissimus dorsi muscle.

Effect of genotype on fatty acid composition of intramuscular and subcutaneous fat of Celta pig breed

“…The fatty acid compositions found in this study are consistent with those previously reported for the Celta pig breed (Franco et al, 2006;Lorenzo et al, 2012) and other rustic pig breeds such as Iberian (Daza et al, 2008), Chato Murciano (Galián et al, 2008;Peinado et al, 2009) and Cinta Senese Pugliese et al, 2005).…”

Efecto de la edad de sacrificio en el perfil de ácidos grasos de cerdos de raza Celta

“…Finally, nutritional indexes are within the range described by some authors (Franci et al 2005;Daza et al 2008). The AI and TI indexes increased (P<0.05) whereas the h/H ratio decreased (P<0.05) as the slaughter age increased, Eventually, ∑n6/∑n3 ratio did not vary with the slaughter age.…”

European Local Pig Breeds - Diversity and Performance. A study of project TREASURE

“…feed intake of 6.3 and 5.6 kg daily per pig in Sarda [14] and Iberian breed [15,16], respectively) show high intake capacity compared to modern genetically improved breeds. However, it should be noted that the value of 6.3 kg of feed per pig described in the study indicates the quantity of distributed feed [14], while the value of 5.6 kg of feed per pig per day corresponds to feeding with acorns [15]. The highest consumption of feed mixture fed ad libitum was 4.7 kg in the case of Iberian pig [16].…”

“…In the context of the variability between studies in terms of nutrition and final body weight and age, it is difficult to evaluate to which degree the collected data and the differences observed were influenced by genetic or production system factors, but the importance of the genetic control of fatty acid composition and potential for selective breeding has been emphasised in different pig genotypes [32][33][34][35]. Regarding the nutritional value of pork which has generally high n-6/n-3 ratio, much above the recommended one (<5), studies on local pig breeds show huge variability; however, in some breeds, in particular, Iberian in 'montanera' production, the observed values approach the mentioned recommendation [15,36,37].…”