Influence of a conjugated linoleic acid mixture on growth, organ weights, carcass traits and meat quality in growing pigs

Abstract

Grain soybean meal diets, either with 2% of a conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) preparation or with 2% rapeseed oil (control), were tested in 2 x 40 pigs, Pietrain x (Landrace x Large White), each group with 20 female in the live weight range 23.5-117.0 kg and 20 male-castrated pigs in the live weight range 23.5-110.6 kg. The CLA-content of the preparation amounted to 54.0% cis/trans + trans/cis, 8.7% cis/cis and 32.7% trans/trans isomers. Daily weight gain, feed intake and feed : gain ratio were not influenced by the diets tested. The carcass lean increased significantly from 57.2% of the control group to 58.7% in the CLA group (p < 0.05). The male-castrated showed a stronger CLA effect than the female pigs - not only was the carcass lean significantly increased by 2%, but backfat thickness was significantly decreased by 2.8 mm, i.e. minus 11% (as compared with barrows of the control). The meat of CLA-fed pigs had a higher conductivity. A CLA effect on further meat quality characteristics (pH 45 min post-mortem, impedance, colour criteria, intramuscular fat, drip loss, frying loss, shear force, sensory attributes) could not be detected. There were some significant correlations between the meat quality attributes.

The effect of sex and slaughter weight on intramuscular fat content and its relationship to carcass traits of pigs

“…Average BF, FAT and PFAT of castrates were significantly higher than those of gilts (29.01 vs. 25.56 mm, 9.57 vs. 7.55 kg and 21.79 vs. 17.43%, respectively). The results are in agreement with previous reports on sex differences (Larzul et al, 1997;Tischendorf et al, 2002;Cassady et al, 2004). However, Mohrmann et al (2006) did not find any significant differences between the sexes (gilts and barrows), but gilts tended to have higher lean meat content.…”

Conjugated linoleic acid and obesity control: efficacy and mechanisms

“…13,21 In pigs, feeding 0.5% CLA containing 20% t10c12 and 27% c9t11 isomers reduced weight gain. 34 However, most pig studies have shown no change 16,35,36 or even increased weight gain 32,33 after supplementation with CLA mixture containing similar amounts of c9t11 and t10c12 isomers.…”

“…10,12,22,26 Studies that have not shown a significant reduction in weight gain generally are those having applied either low levels (r0.5% in the diet) of CLA 11,22 or CLA mixtures that contained low concentrations of the t10c12 isomer. 13,21 Results of the studies conducted in pigs are controversial, with an increase, 32,33 decrease 34 or no effect 16,35,36 being observed.…”

“…16,32,35,36,39 It has been reported that diet supplementation with CLA at a level as low as 0.5% reduced fat deposition in both male and female ICR mice. 10 Marked reductions in white and brown fat deposition have been observed in female and male C57BL/6J mice after feeding 1.0-1.5% CLA.…”

Effect of dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on growth performance, body composition and hepatic intermediary metabolism in juvenile yellow catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco

“…CLA has been shown to have many biological effects for terrestrial animals, including remarkable inhibition of atherosclerosis (Lee et al, 1994), anti-cancer (Ha et al, 1990). In addition, there is increasing evidence that dietary CLA decreases body fat and increases lean body mass (Thiel-Cooper et al, 2001;Tischendorf et al, 2002), and thus attenuates obesity in several animal models (Delany and West, 2000;Wang and Jones, 2004). This has been suggested to be a positive effect in a variety of farmed species and animal disease models and by extension, humans (Thiel-Cooper et al, 2001;Wang and Jones, 2004).…”