Infusion of short chain fatty acids in the ileum improves the carcass traits, meat quality and lipid metabolism of growing pigs

Anran Jiao; Hui Diao; Bing Yu; Jun He; Jie Yu; Ping Zheng; Yuheng Luo; Junqiu Luo; Quyuan Wang; Huifen Wang; Xiangbing Mao; Daiwen Chen

doi:10.1016/j.aninu.2020.05.009

Infusion of short chain fatty acids in the ileum improves the carcass traits, meat quality and lipid metabolism of growing pigs

Anim Nutr. 2021 Mar;7(1):94-100. doi: 10.1016/j.aninu.2020.05.009. Epub 2020 Oct 22.

Authors

Anran Jiao¹, Hui Diao¹, Bing Yu¹, Jun He¹, Jie Yu¹, Ping Zheng¹, Yuheng Luo¹, Junqiu Luo¹, Quyuan Wang¹, Huifen Wang¹, Xiangbing Mao¹, Daiwen Chen¹

Affiliation

¹ Institute of Animal Nutrition, Sichuan Agricultural University, Key Laboratory for Animal Disease-Resistance Nutrition of China Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Animal Disease-resistant Nutrition and Feed of China Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory of Animal Disease-resistant Nutrition of Sichuan Province, Ya'an, 625014, China.

Abstract

Short chain fatty acids (SCFA) are the main products of indigestible carbohydrates undergoing bacterial fermentation in the hindgut, which are related to some physiological functions. This study was designed to investigate the effects of SCFA infusion by ileum on the carcass traits, meat quality and lipid metabolism of growing pigs. In a 28-day study, 24 growing barrows fitted with a T-cannula in distal ileum were divided into 4 treatments: 1) Control, 2) antibiotics (AB), 3) AB + 300 mL of SCFA1 solution (ABS1), 4) AB + 300 mL of SCFA2 solution (ABS2). The concentrations of acetate, propionate and butyrate in SCFA1 solution were respectively 61.84, 18.62 and 12.55 mmol/L, and in SCFA2 were respectively 40.08, 15.41 and 9.78 mmol/L. The results showed that the SCFA infusion increased the average daily feed intake and average daily gain of pigs (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the SCFA treatments increased longissimus dorsi area (P < 0.05) and carcass weight (P = 0.058), decreased the drip loss of longissimus dorsi (P = 0.059), and reduced serum concentrations of triglyceride, total cholesterol and urea nitrogen (P < 0.05). Besides, the SCFA administration inhibited the mRNA expressions of fatty acid synthase (FAS) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase in longissimus dorsi (P < 0.05), the mRNA expression of FAS in the liver (P < 0.05), and the mRNA expression of hormone-sensitive lipase in abdominal fat (P < 0.05). Short chain fatty acid infusion also enhanced the mRNA expression of carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1α in the liver (P < 0.05), the mRNA expressions of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma and lipoprotein lipase in abdominal fat (P < 0.05), and the mRNA expressions of free fatty acid receptor 2, glucose-6-phosphatase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1 in the colon (P < 0.05). These results suggested that SCFA administration in the ileum could improve the carcass traits and meat quality of growing pigs, which was possibly due to the fact that SCFA modulated lipid metabolism.

Keywords: Carcass trait; Growing pig; Lipid metabolism; Meat quality; Short chain fatty acid.