Effets de la supplémentation alimentaire en acide pantothénique sur la composition en acides gras de la bardière chez le porc lourd en finition

This study evaluated the effect of pantothenic acid supplementation to the finishing diet of heavy pigs on backfat fatty acid (FA) composition. To this aim, 42 pigs, 21 females and 21 castrated males of similar weight and age, were evenly divided into three groups of 14 subjects each. From 95 kg live weight (lw) till slaughtering (165 kg lw), the 3 groups received the same basal diet containing either 10 (control, C), or 60 (T1) or 110 ppm (T2) of pantothenic acid, as calcium pantothenate. At slaughter, backfat samples were individually collected and then submitted to FA composition analyses, by capillary GLC. The feeding of vitamin B5 at levels higher than currently recommended led to a decrease of saturated (P=0.061) and monounsaturated FA (P=0.098) content in backfat lipids, whereas polyunsaturated FA content and the iodine value increased (P<0.05). Besides, the feeding of pantothenic acid at levels higher than 60ppm brought about no further relevant effect on FA content. On the whole, the technological quality of backfat lipids in the heavy pig could be negatively, albeit slightly, affected by high level of pantothenic acid in the finishing diet.