Skatole, androstenone and taint in boars fed two different diets

Lundström, Kerstin; Malmfors, Birgitta; Malmfors, G.; Stern, Susanne; Petersson, H; Mortensen, Anna Birthe; Sørensen, Svend Erik

doi:10.1016/0301-6226(88)90067-x

Cited by 83 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…As androstenone and skatole fat levels are both dependent on the pubertal development and are positively correlated (e.g. Lundstrom et al, 1988;Zamaratskaia et al, 2004), similar effects of environmental variations on both compounds were expected. However, it is often not the case (e.g.…”

Section: Indicators Of the Pubertal Developmentmentioning

confidence: 72%

Influence of housing and season on pubertal development, boar taint compounds and skin lesions of male pigs

Prunier

Brilloüet²,

Merlot³

et al. 2013

Animal

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Rearing entire pigs may lead to meat quality and welfare problems in relation to pubertal development. A better knowledge of the sources of variation of pubertal development, behaviour and boar taint is needed before generalizing entire male pigs. From 84 days of age, entire male pigs were reared in groups of 10 either in a conventional (C, 1 m²/animal, slatted floor) or an enriched (E, 2.5 m²/animal, straw bedding, outdoor run) housing during spring or autumn and fed ad libitum (n = 10/housing/season). Mounting behaviour was observed for 3 h during the third (M3), fourth (M4) and fifth (M5) months of age. The total number of skin lesions was counted on both sides of the pigs 1 day before the behavioural recordings. The time spent in the outdoor run was also recorded during 3 days per month. The animals were slaughtered at 161 ± 1 days of age (122 ± 9 kg live weight). Blood samples were collected at 89 (M3), 119 (M4) and 152 (M5) days of age and at slaughter for the testosterone and oestradiol measurements. The testes were collected at slaughter, freed from the surrounding tissues and weighed. The fat samples were collected for the androstenone and skatole concentration measurement. Plasma testosterone and oestradiol-17β (oestradiol), fat androstenone and skatole and weight of the testes did not differ between the housing systems. Plasma testosterone (8.3 v. 3.9 nmol/l, P < 0.05) and oestradiol (12.0 v. 9.2 pmol/l, P < 0.1) at M3, fat skatole (0.124 v. 0.043, P < 0.03) and weight of the testes (587 v. 512 g, P < 0.05) were higher in the autumn than in the spring trial, suggesting that the pubertal development was accelerated. The number of received mounting behaviours was slightly higher in the autumn ( P = 0.08) trial and was markedly higher in the E than in the C environment ( P < 0.003). Skin lesions were more numerous in the C than in the E housing at M4 and M5 and in the spring than in the autumn trial at M3 and M4 ( P < 0.05). Fat androstenone and the number of performed mounting behaviours were significantly correlated between each other and with numerous indicators of the pubertal development ( P < 0.05). The number of skin lesions was correlated with plasma testosterone and live weight ( P < 0.05). Overall, this study suggests the effect of season on sexual development, the effect of the housing system on behaviour, and demonstrates the links between sexual hormones, behaviour and boar taint.Keywords: pig, season, housing, testosterone, androstenone ImplicationsFinding solutions to rear entire male pigs without drawbacks on the meat quality and welfare during fattening are essential for the EU pig industry that is engaged in a process of stopping surgical castration. The present study evaluates the housing system and the season as two possible sources of variation of pubertal development, behaviour and boar taint. We found a positive effect of enriching the environment on the number of skin lesions but not on the other parameters. Decreasing day length seems to accelerate the pubertal development. The m...

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Section: Indicators Of the Pubertal Developmentmentioning

confidence: 72%

Influence of housing and season on pubertal development, boar taint compounds and skin lesions of male pigs

Prunier

Brilloüet²,

Merlot³

et al. 2013

Animal

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“…No correlation between levels of skatole and estrone sulphate was, however, found in one study [18]. The correlations between levels of androstenone in plasma and adipose tissue diverge from high (0.46-0.94) [18,19,[21][22][23] to not significant [24,25]. Levels of skatole and indole in adipose tissue are shown to be highly correlated (0.46-0.75) [26,10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Moreover, levels of androstenone, testosterone and estrogens in plasma can also be affected by diurnal variations during the day, e.g. [30,25,31].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between SNPs within candidate genes and compounds related to boar taint and reproduction

et al. 2009

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Background: Boar taint is an unpleasant odour and flavour of the meat from some uncastrated male pigs primarily caused by elevated levels of androstenone and skatole in adipose tissue. Androstenone is produced in the same biochemical pathway as testosterone and estrogens, which represents a particular challenge when selecting against high levels of androstenone in the breeding programme, without simultaneously decreasing levels of other steroids. Detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with compounds affecting boar taint is important both for gaining a better understanding of the complex regulation of the trait and for the purpose of identifying markers that can be used to improve the gain of breeding. The beneficial SNPs to be used in breeding would have the combinational effects of reducing levels of boar taint without affecting fertility of the animals. The aim of this study was to detect SNPs in boar taint candidate genes and to perform association studies for both single SNPs and haplotypes with levels of boar taint compounds and phenotypes related to reproduction.

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“…Skatole is thought to be the main cause of the unpleasant smell and taste of meat from uncastrated male pigs, which are of increasing importance in meat production (Lundstrom et al, 1988). It has been suggested that aerial concentrations of indole and skatole in piggery cannot be used to evaluate the quality and strength of odors (Travis and Elliott, 1977).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparison of features and the microbial constitution of the fresh feces of pigs fed diets supplemented with or without dietary microbes.

Nagamine

Shimada

Nakamura

et al. 1998

J. Gen. Appl. Microbiol.

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The features and the constitution of the microbial population of fresh feces were compared between pigs fed a diet supplemented with dietary microbes and pigs given nonsupplemented diets. The former were reared on farm C and the latter on farms A and B. The concentrations of ammonia-N, indole, and skatole of fresh feces were not significantly different between pigs reared on farm C and those raised on farms A and B, but the concentrations of ammonia-N and the skatole of fresh feces were significantly different between pigs reared on farms A and B. The total VFA (volatile fatty acids) concentration of fresh feces in pigs on farm C was slightly lower than in those on farms A and B. Moreover, the molar proportion of the acetic acid in feces in pigs on farm C was lower; inversely, that of propionic and butyric acids was higher in comparison with those on farms A and B. No differences were evident in the total viable counts of feces among pigs reared on the three different farms. Clostridium perfringens was abundant in feces of pigs raised on farms A and B, but it was not detected in pigs reared on farm C. Megasphaerae, bifidobacteria, and clostridia except for C. perfringens were more abundant in the feces of pigs fed a diet supplemented with dietary microbes on farm C, compared with pigs given the nonsupplemented diets on farms A and B.

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Skatole, androstenone and taint in boars fed two different diets

Cited by 83 publications

References 11 publications

Influence of housing and season on pubertal development, boar taint compounds and skin lesions of male pigs

Influence of housing and season on pubertal development, boar taint compounds and skin lesions of male pigs

Association between SNPs within candidate genes and compounds related to boar taint and reproduction

A comparison of features and the microbial constitution of the fresh feces of pigs fed diets supplemented with or without dietary microbes.

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