0
Supplementation with guanidinoacetic acid (GAA) has been reported to increase the muscle pH, improve the color, and decrease the drip loss and shear force value of meat in pigs. Dietary creatine monohydrate (CMH) supplementation has been reported to improve the meat quality of pigs. The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of CMH and GAA supplementation on growth performance, meat quality, and creatine metabolism of finishing pigs. For this purpose, 180 male pigs (Duroc x Landrace x Yorkshire) were individually weighed (90.88 ± 2.91 kg) and randomly allocated to three treatment groups: a control group fed with a basal diet, a CMH group fed with the basal diet supplemented with 0.8% CMH, and a GAA group fed with the basal diet supplemented with 0.1% GAA.
Concerning growth performance, CMH treatment increased average daily feed intake in comparison to the control group, whereas GAA treatment increased both the average daily feed intake and the average daily gain of pigs. Regarding meat quality traits, CMH and GAA treatments showed an increased pH 45 min post-mortem and a higher myofibrillar protein solubility and calpain 1 mRNA expression level; and a decreased drip loss and shear force value in longissimus dorsi. Moreover, CMH and GAA supplementation increased the concentrations of creatine and phosphocreatine and the mRNA expressions of guanidinoacetate N-methyltransferase (GAMT) and creatine transporter and decreased the mRNA expressions of arginine:glycine amidinotransferase in kidneys, indicating that CMH and GAA supplementation could promote the synthesis of creatine and inhibit the synthesis of GAA.
In conclusion, the present study showed that dietary CMH and GAA supplementation could improve the growth performance and enhance the creatine and phosphocreatine loading in finishing pigs. Moreover, CMH and GAA treatment affected the meat quality by improving the pH value, water-holding capacity, and tenderness via increasing the protein solubility and mRNA expressions of CAPN1.
Li, J., Zhang, L., Fu, Y., Li, Y., Jiang, Y., Zhou, G., and Gao, F. Creatine Monohydrate and Guanidinoacetic Acid Supplementation Affects the Growth Performance, Meat Quality, and Creatine Metabolism of Finishing Pigs. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry 66.38 (2018): 9952-9959. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.8b02534