Effects of dietary level of pantothenic acid and sex on carcass, meat quality traits and fatty acid composition of thigh subcutaneous adipose tissue in Italian heavy pigs.

Two trials were carried out to evaluate the
effects of i) supranutritional doses of pantothenic
acid (PA) and ii) sex on carcass, meat
quality and fatty acid (FA) composition of subcutaneous
adipose tissue in Italian heavy pig.
In trial 1, 59 Duroc x (LxLW) pigs were fed the
same diet containing either 10 [in the control
(C) group] or 110 ppm [in the treatment (T)
group] PA, from 107 to 168 kg live weight. At
slaughtering, forty carcasses were sampled
randomly. The T carcasses had lower backfat
thickness (P<0.05), lower incidence of adipose
cuts (P<0.05), higher lean cuts percentage
(63.09 vs 60.64%; P<0.01) and lean meat yield
(P<0.07). In trial 2, 42 pigs [Dumeco Cofok x
(LxLW)], evenly divided into three groups,
were fed the same feed containing respectively
10 (C), 60 (T1) and 110 ppm (T2) PA, from 95
to 165 kg live weight. The treatment lowered
total adipose cuts yield (P<0.05) and increased
lean/adipose cuts ratio (P<0.07). In the outer
layer of thighs subcutaneous adipose tissue,
the treatment raised polyunsaturated FA content
(P<0.01), unsaturation coefficient
(P<0.01) and polyunsaturated/saturated (P/S)
FA ratio (P<0.05). In the inner layer, the treatment
led to a lower saturated FA (P<0.05) and
higher polyunsaturated FA content (P<0.01).
In both trials, females generally provided leaner
carcasses. In neither trials, vitamin level
affected meat quality. Thus, feeding high levels
of PA to heavy pigs can yield more valuable carcasses
without affecting meat quality.
However, effects on FA composition suggest
caution in adopting this practice in the Italian
heavy pig production.