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Inulin is a group of naturally occurring polysaccharides and an attractive commercial dietary fiber that has been implicated in regulating the gut health and metabolism of animals. Furthermore, evidence shows that adding dietary fiber to the diet of commercial pigs may enhance the meat quality traits. This study was conducted to explore the effects of dietary inulin supplementation on growth performance, blood metabolic parameters, carcass traits, and meat quality in growing-finishing pigs. Thirty-six Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire White growing barrows (22.0 ± 1.0 kg) were randomly allocated into 12 pen (3 pigs / pen) and each pen was randomly allotted to one dietary treatment for 96 days consisting of a basal control diet or a basal diet supplemented with 0.5% inulin. Average daily body weight gain, average daily feed intake, and the ratio of feed to gain were calculated. In addition, at the end of the trial, one pig from each pen that was closest to average body weight was selected to analyze carcass characteristics, meat quality, insulin, insulin-like growth factor-1 and gene expression. The last three analyzes were obtained through blood and liver samples.
Results showed that inulin supplementation tended to increase the average daily gain at the fattening stage. Inulin significantly increased the dressing percentage and tended to increase the loin-eye area. However, had no significant influences on meat quality parameters. The serum concentrations of insulin and IGF-I were significantly higher in the inulin group than in the control group. Moreover, inulin supplementation significantly elevated the expression level of myosin heavy chain II b (MyHC IIb) in the longissimus dorsi. Inulin significantly upregulated the expression of mammalian rapamycin target protein (mTOR) but decreased the expression level of muscle-specific ubiquitin ligase MuRF-1.
These results show the beneficial effect of inulin supplementation on the growth performance and carcass traits in growing-finishing pigs and will also facilitate the application of inulin in swine production.
Wang W, Chen D, Yu B, Huang Z, Luo Y, Zheng P, Mao X, Yu J, Luo J, He J. Effect of Dietary Inulin Supplementation on Growth Performance, Carcass Traits, and Meat Quality in Growing–Finishing Pigs. Animals. 2019; 9(10): 840. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9100840
