Physical Activity Effects on Blood Parameters, Growth, Carcass, and Meat and Fat Composition of Portuguese Alentejano Pigs.
José Manuel MartinsDavid SilvaAndré AlbuquerqueJosé NevesRui CharnecaAmadeu FreitasPublished in: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI (2021)
This study evaluated the effects of physical activity on blood, growth, carcass, and meat quality of finishing Alentejano (AL) pigs. Pigs, reared from ~87 to 160 kg in individual pens (no exercise area, NE group, n = 9) or in an outdoor park (with exercise area, WE group, n = 9), were fed commercial diets (85% ad libitum). WE pigs were in a park (~400 m2) with a feeding area separated from the drinking area with an automatic waterer, forcing pigs to walk at least 800 m daily. Blood samples were obtained during the trial (weeks 2, 11, and 18) and at slaughter. The left-side carcass was submitted to commercial cuts, and samples from loin, tenderloin, and dorsal subcutaneous fat (DSF) were analyzed. Plasma urea in WE pigs was higher in weeks 2 and 11, while cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, cholesterol to HDL-cholesterol and LDL- to HDL-cholesterol ratios, and cortisol were lower in weeks 11 and 18. Final weight and average daily gain were higher and feed conversion ratio lower in WE pigs. DSF thickness and carcass weight were higher in WE pigs, leading to higher carcass yield. Finally, loin and tenderloin from WE pigs presented higher total protein content. These data show that allowing physical activity affects metabolism, growth, and carcass and meat quality of AL pigs.
Keyphrases
- physical activity
- low density lipoprotein
- body mass index
- adipose tissue
- clinical trial
- weight loss
- randomized controlled trial
- air pollution
- depressive symptoms
- high intensity
- electronic health record
- fatty acid
- spinal cord
- deep learning
- amino acid
- small molecule
- body composition
- big data
- protein protein
- neuropathic pain
- body weight