Growth performance and carcass characteristics of pigs fed short-season corn hybrids1

Nutritional, bioactive components and health properties of the milpa triad system seeds (corn, common bean and pumpkin)

The milpa system is a biocultural polyculture technique. Heritage of Mesoamerican civilizations that offers a wide variety of plants for food purposes. Corn, common beans, and pumpkins are the main crops in this agroecosystem, which are important for people's nutritional and food security. Moreover, milpa system seeds have great potential for preventing and ameliorating noncommunicable diseases, such as obesity, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes, among others. This work reviews and analyzes the nutritional and health benefits of milpa system seeds assessed by recent preclinical and clinical trials. Milpa seeds protein quality, vitamins and minerals, and phytochemical composition are also reviewed. Evidence suggests that regular consumption of milpa seeds combination could exert complementing effect to control nutritional deficiencies. Moreover, the combination of phytochemicals and nutritional components of the milpa seed could potentialize their individual health benefits. Milpa system seeds could be considered functional foods to fight nutritional deficiencies and prevent and control noncommunicable diseases.

Supplemental effect of coated refined fish oil on the performance of finishing pigs fed diets containing soybean-meal as a partial alternative to barley or wheat feed ingredient

A total of 195 finishing pigs with an average body weight of 78.65 ± 0.09 kg were assigned to 1 of 3 dietary treatments in a 28 days trial. The designated nutritional diets were as follows: CON; TRT1- CON + 0.2% coated refined fish oil; TRT2- CON + 10% barley + 0.2% coated refined fish oil. The inclusion of coated refined fish oil with the barley-based diet significantly increased body weight, average daily gain, and feed conversion ratio of finishing pigs throughout the experimental period. At the end of the experiment, pigs fed coated refined fish oil with the barley-based diet showed a significant improvement on nutrient digestibility of dry matter and nitrogen. Moreover, gas emission of NH3 and H2S concentration were significantly reduced. Also, drip loss during days 5 and 7 was significantly decreased in meat quality analysis of pigs fed coated refined fish oil supplemented to a barley-based diet. Furthermore, dietary coated refined fish oil with barley-based diet had significantly increased fatty acid profile of belly meat and reduced belly fat. In summary, the inclusion of coated refined fish oil with barley diet positively impacts on growth performance and nutritional values of meat quality in finishing pigs

Camelina (Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz) as Feedstuffs in Meat Type Poultry Diet: A Source of Protein and n-3 Fatty Acids

Simple Summary

One of the main problems in poultry production is to find more sustainable feed protein sources, other than the most widely used soya bean meal. An alternative protein source could be the underexploited oilseed crop camelina (Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz), which is mostly grown for biodiesel production, but is also characterized by disease and pest resistance, tolerance to cold weather, drought and low fertility soil. This review presents the nutritive value of camelina seeds, oil and cake (a by-product of biodiesel production), and their effect on the growth performance and fatty acid profile of muscles and liver in meat type poultry. The research results indicated that supplementation of poultry diets with camelina feedstuffs beneficially modified the fatty acid composition of meat and liver. The ratio of n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) decreased, whereas the content of α-linolenic and long-chain n-3 PUFA increased in poultry tissues.

Abstract

Camelina seed or seed processing derivatives, i.e., cake, are cheap alternative protein feed ingredients for meat type poultry. Camelina is an oilseed crop containing 36.8% oil in seeds, while in the cake the oil content accounts for 6.4–22.7%. If compared with other Brassicaceae family plants, camelina is distinguished by a unique fatty acid composition, because the content of α-linolenic fatty acid (C18:3n-3; ALA) varies from 25.9 to 36.7% of total fatty acids. The total tocopherol content in camelina oil and cake are, respectively, 751–900 and 687 mg/kg. Addition of camelina to poultry nutrition increases the amount of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in poultry meat and liver. The content of ALA in chicken muscles increases by 1.3–4.4, 2.4–2.9 and 2.3–7.2 times after supplementing chicken diets with, respectively, camelina cake (8–24%), seed (10%), and oil (2.5–6.9%) in comparison with the control group. Camelina cake (5–25%), seed (10%) and oil (2.5–4%) inclusion in chicken diets results in 1.5–3.9 times higher total n-3 PUFA content in muscles and liver. Meanwhile, supplementation of chicken diets with camelina oil (4–6.9%), seed (5–10%) and cake (5–25%) results in, respectively, a 1.8–8.4, 1.6–1.9 and 1.3–2.9 times lower n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio in muscles, and 3.29 times lower n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio in the liver. After inclusion of different amounts of camelina cake in chicken diets, a healthy for human nutrition n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio from 1.6 to 2.9 was found in chicken muscles.

Net energy system of feed formulation with or without enzyme supplementation in growing-finishing pigs fed barley-based diets with alternative feed ingredients

The aim of this study was to determine the growth performance and carcass characteristics of growing-finishing pigs fed diets formulated on net energy (NE) basis with or without exogenous enzyme supplementation. Twenty-four pigs with an initial body weight (BW) of 25 kg were randomly allotted one of three treatments; a barley-based control diet formulated on a digestible energy (DE) basis (Diet A), control diet formulated on an NE basis (Diet B), and Diet B + multicarbohydrase enzyme (Diet C). Pigs were offered their respective diets in a 3-phase feeding program. Individual pig BW and feed disappearance were monitored once every 2 wk. Pigs were slaughtered when they reached 100 kg BW to determine carcass characteristics. During phase 1, an improvement (P = 0.02) in feed intake was observed in pigs fed Diet C compared with Diet B. In phase 3, pigs fed Diet B showed improvement in daily gain (P = 0.02) and feed efficiency (P = 0.05) compared with Diet A. Overall, when compared with control diet, pigs fed Diet B showed significant improvement in daily gain (P = 0.05) and feed efficiency (P = 0.01). In conclusion, the results indicate a better growth performance with diets formulated using the NE system. Moreover, enzyme supplementation had no effect on the overall performance of pigs.

Prediction of digestible and metabolisable energy in soybean meals produced from soybeans of different origins fed to growing pigs

The objective of this experiment was to determine the digestible energy (DE) and metabolisable energy (ME) in 22 sources of soybean meal (SBM) produced from soybeans from different countries and subsequently to establish equations for predicting the DE and ME in SBM based on their chemical composition. The 22 sources of SBM were all processed in Chinese crushing plants, but the soybeans used originated from China (n=6), the US (n=6), Brazil (n=7) or Argentina (n=3). The basal diet was a corn-based diet and 22 additional diets were formulated by mixing corn and 24.3% of each source of SBM. The average DE and ME in SBM from China, the US, Brazil and Argentina were 15.73, 15.93, 15.64 and 15.90 MJ/kg and 15.10, 15.31, 14.97 and 15.42 MJ/kg, respectively, and no differences among countries were observed. From a stepwise regression analysis, a series of DE and ME prediction equations were generated. The best-fit equations for SBM were DE=38.44-0.43 crude fibre -0.98 gross energy +0.11 acid detergent fibre (R2=0.67, p<0.01) and ME=2.74+0.97 DE -0.06 crude protein (R2=0.79, p<0.01). In conclusion, there were no differences in the DE and ME of SBM among the different soybean sources used in this experiment. The DE and ME of SBM of different origin can be predicted based on their chemical composition when fed to growing pigs.

Characterization of protected designation of origin Italian meat products obtained from heavy pigs fed barley-based diets

A study was conducted to evaluate the quality and sensory properties of protected designation of origin (PDO) Parma ham and Piacentina neck obtained from heavy pigs (Italian Duroc × Italian Large White) fed barley-based diets. Four diets were tested: 1) a corn-based diet (control), 2) the control diet with 80% of a normal-amylose hulled barley variety (Cometa), 3) the control diet with 80% of a normal-amylose hulless barley variety (Astartis), and 4) the control diet with 80% of a low-amylose hulless barley variety (Alamo). All the meat products were analyzed for physicochemical and color parameters. The dry-cured hams and necks were also evaluated for sensory properties. The data of physicochemical, color, and sensory parameters were separately analyzed by multivariate factor analysis, and interpretation of each extracted factor was based on specific original variables loading on each one. The meat products obtained from pigs fed the barley-based diets differed from those obtained from the control pigs on the PUFA factors characterized by C18:2-6 and omega-3:omega-6 ratio. In particular, the meat products obtained from pigs fed the barley-based diets had a lower content of C18:2-6 and a higher omega-3:omega-6 ratio ( < 0.05) than the control. In fresh hams, iodine number and SFA (C16:0 and C18:0) in addition to PUFA and omega-3:omega-6 ratio loaded on the PUFA/SFA factor. The fresh hams produced from pigs fed the barley-based diets had subcutaneous fat (SC) with a lower iodine number and a higher SFA level compared with those produced from the control pigs ( < 0.05). A sex effect was measured for PUFA/SFA and oleic acid factors. In particular, the barrow SC had a lower SFA content, higher PUFA and C18:1-9 levels, and a higher iodine number ( < 0.05) than the gilt SC. There were no appreciable differences in the color and sensory properties of meat products obtained from pigs fed the different diets. The hams from barrows differed from those obtained from gilts on the lean properties factor describing properties related to aspect and odor of dry-cured hams. Indeed, the hams from barrows were depreciated compared with the hams from gilts for minor intensity, brightness, and uniformity of the lean, pinkish intermuscular fat and cured odor. In conclusion, barley could be used as a replacement for corn in heavy pig diets for the production of PDO Italian products without negative effects on the physicochemical, color, or sensory characteristics of meat products.

Feed intake, digestibility, growth performance, and blood profile of pigs fed mixtures of dried and ground fig (Ficus sur) fruits and graded levels of maize

This study was conducted to examine the effect of feeding a mixture of different proportions of Ficus sur fruits (FSF) and ground maize grain (MG) on intake, digestibility, growth, and blood profile on Yorkshire pigs. Dietary treatments comprised 100 % FSF and 0 % MG (100FSF), 67 % FSF and 33 % MG (67FSF), 33 % FSF and 67 % MG (33FSF), and 0 % FSF and 100 % MG (0FSF). Noug cake and soybean meal were included to meet nutrient requirement of the animals at isonitrogenous (18 % crude protein (CP)) level with graded levels of energy. Twenty pigs with an average initial weight of 27.75 ± 1.4 kg were grouped according to their body weight, and animals from each group were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments. There was no difference (P > 0.05) in dry matter, crude protein, and metabolizable energy intakes among the treatments. Organic matter (P < 0.05), ether extract (P < 0.01), and nitrogen-free extract (NFE) intakes were higher (P < 0.0001) for pigs fed with 0FSF than 100FSF. The digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, and NFE did not differ (P > 0.05) among treatments. However, organic matter digestibility (P < 0.05) was highest for pigs in 0FSF than 100FSF. Conversely, crude fiber digestibility was in the reverse trend. No significant differences were observed in body weight gain among treatments (P > 0.05). The blood counts and sera metabolites of pigs across the treatments fall within the optimum range. Packed cell volume (PCV) and hemoglobin (Hgb) were higher, but creatinine and cholesterol concentrations were lower in 100FSF than 0FSF indicating better health conditions in pigs fed with FSF. It is, therefore, concluded that feeding FSF has comparable effects with MG on the metabolic performance, growth, and blood profile of pigs.

Nutrient digestibility in finishing pigs fed phytase-supplemented barley-based diets containing soybean meal or canola meal as a protein source

The effect of phytase on nutrient digestibility in finishing pigs fed barley-based diet with soybean meal or canola meal as protein source was investigated. Six ileal-cannulated barrows (70 kg initial BW) were fed five diets in a 5 x 5 Latin square design with one added column. The five diets were based on barley-soybean meal (BSBM) or barley-canola meal (BCM) without or with phytase at 500 FTU/kg, and a casein-cornstarch-based diet, which was used to estimate standardised ileal AA digestibilities. No interactions were detected between phytase and diet on any of the response criteria measured except for apparent total tract N digestibility, which was reduced in BSBM diet but not BCM diet by phytase. Phytase increased (p < 0.01) apparent ileal and total tract P digestibility in both BSBM and BCM diets by at least 17 percentage units, and tended (p < 0.10) to increase the apparent ileal digestibilities of histidine, isoleucine, threonine, valine, cysteine, glycine and tyrosine. In conclusion, the effect of phytase in barley-based diets for finishing pigs on all response criteria measured in this study, except apparent total tract N digestibility, was not influenced by protein source.