Effects Of Sugar Cane Extract On Growth Performance And Meat Quality Of Finishing Pigs Under High Temperature In Summer

In recent years,the application of natural plant extracts additives has become a research hotspot in animal production.Sugar cane extract(SCE)is a kind of plant extracts with broad biological activities,such as anti-oxidation,anti-inflammatory and immune regulation.However,the knowledge of the application of sugar cane extract in husbandry production is still evolving and additional research should be conducted to understand its function in finishing pigs.The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation with sugar cane extract on growth performance and meat quality of finishing pigs in summer-hot condition,which provides theoretical basis for the development and application of sugar cane extract as feed additive in pig production.The study mainly consists of 3 parts.1.Component analysis of sugar cane extractTotal phenol and flavone of SCE were measured by folin-ciocalteu method and aluminium chloride colorimetric method,respectively.Sugar cane extract was degraded to release phenolics by acid alcohol solutions method.Then,the sinapic acid,chlorogenic acid,gallic acid,apigenin and tricin acid of alcohol degradation liquid was determined by a high-perormance liquid chromatography with respective standard material.The conventional nutrients of sugar cane extract were measured by traditional method.Results showed that total phenol and flavone in per g sugar cane extract were 89.39 mg and 20.95 mg,respectively.The content of sinapic acid,chlorogenic acid,gallic acid,apigenin and tricin acid in per 100 g sugar cane extract are 1.16 mg,10.70 mg,8.12 mg,5.68 mg and 7.31 mg,respectively.Sugar cane extract contained moistre 5.63%,crud protein 13.65%,crude fat 2.99%,crude fiber 1.32%,ash 16.64%and nitrogen free extracts 59.77%.In conclusion,there are a lot of phenolic compounds such as polyphenols and flavonoids in the sugar cane extracts.2.Effect of dietary supplementation with sugar cane extract on growth performance of finishing pigs under summer-hot conditionA total of 120 barrows(Duroc × Landrace × Jiaxing Black)were randomly allotted to 2 dietary treatment groups:control group(pigs fed with basal diets)and treatment group(pigs fed with basal diets supplemented with 1.5%SCE on 3 consecutive days per week).The pigs were fed for 4 weeks under summer-hot condition.At the completion of feeding period,8 pigs randomly selected from each group were slaughtered for samples collection and determination.The results showed that compared to the control group,final body weight and average daily feed intake in treatment group were significantly increased by 3.90%and 7.88%,respectively.Average weight gain in treatment group was increased by 13.79%.Feed conversion ratio was slightly increased,but the difference was not significant.Duodenal villus height to crypt depth ratio was significantly increased in treatment group.Duodenal villus height,jejunum villus height and villus height to crypt depth ratio were slightly increased,but the difference were not significant.Intestinal sucrase,maltase and lactase activities,and amylase,lipase,chyme trypsin and chymotrypsin activities were not significantly different.The serum total cholesterol level,triglyceride level,high density lipoprotein cholesterol level,low density lipoprotein cholesterol level,glucose level,immunoglobulin(Ig A,Ig G and Ig M)content and activities of AST,ALT,AKP were not significantly alterd.The serum MDA content was significantly decreased,while no signigicant difference was observed in serum CAT,GSH-Px and SOD activities.In addition,meat color(a*)was significantly increased in treatment group,while no significant difference was observed in L*and b*value.In conclusion,dietary SCE supplementation could increase growth performance,reduce the serum lipid peroxidation and may potentially improve meat quality in finishing pigs under high temperature in summer.3.Effect of dietary supplementation with sugar cane extract on meat quality and oxidative stability of finishing pigsEighteen barrows(Duroc × Landrace × Jiaxing Black)were randomly allotted to 3 dietary treatment groups:control group(pigs fed with basal diets),0.5%SCE group(pigs fed with basal diets supplemented with 0.5%SCE)and 2.5%SCE group(pigs fed with basal diets supplemented with 2.5%SCE).All pigs were slaughtered for samples collection and determination after 42 days feeding.The results showed that compared to the control group,initial body weight,final body weight and averge weight gain were not significantly different in the SCE groups.Average feed intake were significantly increased.Feed to gain ratio was not alterd in 0.5%SCE group and significantly increased in 2.5%SCE group.The serum total cholesterol level and triglyceride level were significantly decreased in the SCE groups and high density lipoprotein cholesterol level and low density lipoprotein cholesterol level were slightly decreased,but the difference were no significant.The serum glucose level and the activities of AST,ALT,AKP were not significantly alterd.Longissimus dorsi muscle pH45 min,L*,a*,b*and cooking loss were not alterd,while pH24h were significantly increased and myofiber cross sectional area were significantly decreased in the SCE groups.Shear force,drip loss,pressure loss and LDH activity tended to be reduced and were significantly decreased in 0.5%SCE group and 2.5%SCE group,respectively.CAT and GSH-Px activity in Longissimus dorsi muscle and CAT,GSH-Px and T-SOD in serum were not alterd,but MDA content and T-SOD activity in Longissimus dorsi muscle were significantly decreased and MDA content in serum tended to be reduced in the SCE groups.In conclusion,these data indicate that SCE is an effective feed additive to improve pork meat quality,reduce lipid peroxidation in muscle.