Effects of dietary level of pantothenic acid and sex on carcass, meat quality traits and fatty acid composition of thigh subcutaneous adipose tissue in Italian heavy pigs.

Two trials were carried out to evaluate the effects of i) supranutritional doses of pantothenic acid (PA) and ii) sex on carcass, meat quality and fatty acid (FA) composition of subcutaneous adipose tissue in Italian heavy pig. In trial 1, 59 Duroc x (LxLW) pigs were fed the same diet containing either 10 [in the control (C) group] or 110 ppm [in the treatment (T) group] PA, from 107 to 168 kg live weight. At slaughtering, forty carcasses were sampled randomly. The T carcasses had lower backfat thickness (P<0.05), lower incidence of adipose cuts (P<0.05), higher lean cuts percentage (63.09 vs 60.64%; P<0.01) and lean meat yield (P<0.07). In trial 2, 42 pigs [Dumeco Cofok x (LxLW)], evenly divided into three groups, were fed the same feed containing respectively 10 (C), 60 (T1) and 110 ppm (T2) PA, from 95 to 165 kg live weight. The treatment lowered total adipose cuts yield (P<0.05) and increased lean/adipose cuts ratio (P<0.07). In the outer layer of thighs subcutaneous adipose tissue, the treatment raised polyunsaturated FA content (P<0.01), unsaturation coefficient (P<0.01) and polyunsaturated/saturated (P/S) FA ratio (P<0.05). In the inner layer, the treatment led to a lower saturated FA (P<0.05) and higher polyunsaturated FA content (P<0.01). In both trials, females generally provided leaner carcasses. In neither trials, vitamin level affected meat quality. Thus, feeding high levels of PA to heavy pigs can yield more valuable carcasses without affecting meat quality. However, effects on FA composition suggest caution in adopting this practice in the Italian heavy pig production.