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In the past, genetic selection in pigs was mainly focused on the need for rapid growth, muscular development, and low fat. However, this selection resulted in adverse effects on the sensory properties of pork. Currently, with the increasing demand of consumers for high-quality pork, research has concentrated on improving the meat quality characteristics of pigs. Betaine, a trimethyl derivative of glycine, which provides methyl and osmotic protection for the body, has been proven to reduce backfat thickness in pigs when supplemented in the diet. This study was designed to investigate the effects of dietary betaine supplementation on growth performance, meat quality, and muscle lipid metabolism of growing-finishing pigs. For that aim, thirty-six crossbred pigs weighing 24.68 ± 0.97 kg were randomly allotted into two treatments consisting of a basal diet supplemented with 0 or 1200 mg/kg betaine. Each treatment included six replications of three pigs per pen.
Following 119 days of the feeding trial, dietary betaine supplementation significantly enhanced average daily gain and tended to improve average daily feed intake and decreased the feed intake to gain ratio in pigs during 100~125 kg. Furthermore, a tendency to increase the average daily gain and final body weight of pigs over the whole period was observed in the betaine diet group. Betaine supplementation influenced the lipid metabolism of pigs, evidenced by a lower serum concentration of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, an up-regulation of mRNA abundance of fatty acid synthase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase, and a downregulation of mRNA abundance of lipolysis-related genes. Moreover, betaine markedly improved the expression of microRNA-181a (miR-181a) and tended to enhance miR-370.
Overall, betaine supplementation at 1200 mg/kg could increase the growth performance of growing-finishing pigs. Furthermore, betaine had a trend to improve meat quality and intramuscular fat content via increasing lipogenesis and down-regulating the abundance of genes associated with lipolysis, respectively, which was associated with the regulation of miR-181a and miR-370 expression by betaine.
Fu R, Zhang H, Chen D, Tian G, Zheng P, He J, Yu J, Mao X, Huang Z, Pu J, Yang W, Yu B. Long-Term Dietary Supplementation with Betaine Improves Growth Performance, Meat Quality and Intramuscular Fat Deposition in Growing-Finishing Pigs. Foods. 2023; 12(3): 494. https://doi.org/10.3390/ foods12030494
