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There is an increasing concern about the presence of antibiotic residues in meat product by consumers who are more conscious and worried about health. The indiscriminate usage of antibiotic as protectors against diseases and growth promoters has increased the number of antibiotic-resistant pathogens and the concern about their cross-transferring to humans. Many researchers have focused on alternative products such as additives or supplements, but some regions bet by the inclusion of oriental medicinal plants (OMP) extracts as alternative. Therefore, this study was carried out to determine the effect of replacement of antibiotics with (OMPs) and herb extracts on the production performance of finishing swine and on its meat qualities. A total of 40 barrow pigs (Landrace x Yorkshire x Duroc) with initial body weight of 49.5 kg were used in this 69-day experiment. The pigs were assigned to one of four dietary treatments by weight in a randomly completed block design: the control group was given 0.1% flavomycin as an antibiotic; T1 was given a 2% OMP by-product; T2 was given 2% OMP and 0.03% fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum) extract; and T3 was given 2% OMP and 0.1% aminolevulinic acid. The OMP consisted in a huge mixture of different plants. Body weight and feed intakes were measured at the end of the experiment to determine their weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion rate. Animals were slaughtered and the Longissimus dorsus (LD) were removed for meat quality analysis (color, pH, volatile basic nitrogen (VBN), sensory-test, cooking loss and drip loss of the muscles).
No significant differences were found in the weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion rate among the tested groups (P > 0.05). But the treated group showed higher (P < 0.05) moisture and ash and lower protein than the control group. The T3 group showed a lower meat cholesterol content (38.42 mg/100 g) compared to the other groups (P < 0.05). The vitamin E content of the muscle in the three treated groups was higher (P < 0.001) compared to the control group. No antibiotic content was detected in all treated and control LD. The values of the VBN and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) of the treated groups were significantly lower (P < 0.01) than the control group, whereas the pH was slightly higher (P < 0.05) in the treated groups. The treated groups had significantly better (P < 0.05) sensory-test scores for colour, flavour, off-flavour and total acceptability compared to the control group.
Based on the results, it can be concluded that by-products of OMP can be used in the production of pigs to replace antibiotics.
SN Kang, GM Chu, YM Song, SK Jin, IH Hwang and S Kim. 2012. The effects of replacement of antibiotics with by-products of oriental medicinal plants on growth performance and meat qualities in fattening pigs. Animal Science Journal, 83: 245-251. Doi: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2011.00942.x