1. Effects of an immune stimulant, inactivated <italic>Mycobacterium phlei,</italic> on the growth performance as well as meat quality of fattening pigs.
- Author
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Zhong, Jin‐Feng, Wu, Wei‐Gao, Tastan, Aseyinjan, Zhang, Xiao‐Qing, Wang, Bin, Tang, Xiao‐Peng, and Fang, Re‐Jun
- Subjects
MYCOBACTERIUM phlei ,RABBIT meat ,SWINE ,DIETARY supplements ,FAT - Abstract
Abstract: Inactivated
mycobacterium phlei (M. phlei ) is well known for its immune‐stimulatory functions in humans and livestock, but less information is available about the influence on meat quality of pigs when used as a feed additive. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of inactivatedM. phlei on growth performance as well as meat quality of fattening pigs. A total of 240 cross‐bred pigs ([Landrace × Yorkshire] × Duroc) with initial body weight of 80.14 ± 0.29 kg were randomly allocated to five treatments, each of which consisted of eight replicates with 6six pigs per replicate. The basal diet supplemented with five levels of inactivatedM. phlei preparations (0, 3.5 × 109 [0.1% w/w], 7 × 109 [0.2%], 1.4 × 1010 [0.4%] or 2.1 × 1010 [0.6%] colony‐forming units/kg) was respectively fed to the control group and four treatment groups for 30 days. Adding 0.4% of inactivatedM. phlei to diet increased the average daily feed intake and average daily gain of pigs. Importantly, intramuscular fat percentage in the Longissimus dorsi (LD) was increased by feeding diet containing 0.2%, 0.4% and 0.6% of inactivatedM. phlei , despite the pH value, drip loss, cooking loss and filter paper fluid uptake not being influenced. Analysis of the fatty acid components showed that some saturated fatty acids were decreased in LD after feeding inactivatedM. phlei , but some monounsaturated fat acids (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids were increased (PUFAs), which induced the total contents of MUFAs and PUFAs were improved. RT‐PCR assay revealed that feeding inactivatedM. phlei up‐regulated genes implicated in fat metabolism in muscle, includingELOVL6 ,FASN ,SCD1 andH‐FABP . This study revealed that feeding inactivatedM. phlei not only increased growth performance of fattening pigs, but also improved the meat quality by increasing intramuscular fat content, thus inactivatedM. phlei probably has high utilization value in modern pig production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2018
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