title: Effects of dietary L-carnitine and dried distillers grains with solubles on growth, carcass characteristics, and loin and fat quality of growing-finishing pigs.
abstract: A total of 1104 barrows and gilts (PIC 337 × 1050, Pig Improvement Company, Hendersonville, TN), weighing 36 ± 1 kg were used in a 109-d study to evaluate effects of dietary L-carnitine and dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) on growth, carcass traits, and loin and fat quality. Pigs were blocked by BW and randomly assigned to 1 of 6 treatments, with 7 pens per treatment. Treatments were arranged as a 2 × 3 factorial, with main effects of DDGS (30% in Phases 1, 2, and 3, and 20% in Phase 4) and L-carnitine (0, 50, or 100 mg/kg). Overall (d 0 to 109), dietary L-carnitine tended to improve ADG (linear, P = 0.07). Pigs fed 50 mg/kg L-carnitine but no DDGS had greater G:F than pigs fed 0 or 100 mg/kg, whereas when diets containing DDGS were fed, 50 mg/kg of L-carnitine reduced G:F compared with pigs fed 0 or 100 mg/kg (quadratic DDGS × L-carnitine, P < 0.01). There was no effect of DDGS × L-carnitine for any carcass traits, but pigs fed increasing dietary inclusion levels of L-carnitine produced heavier HCW (quadratic, P = 0.03), greater carcass yields (quadratic, P = 0.07), and greater fat depths (quadratic, P = 0.04), with the greatest response observed in pigs fed 50 mg/kg dietary L-carnitine. Feeding L-carnitine increased purge loss (linear, P = 0.03), whereas feeding DDGS tended to decrease (P = 0.06) LM marbling scores. The LM from pigs fed 50 mg/kg L-carnitine and DDGS had lower shear force values compared with LM chops from pigs fed either 0 or 100 mg/kg; however, shear force values were similar across dietary L-carnitine levels in diets devoid of DDGS (quadratic DDGS × L-carnitine, P < 0.01). Furthermore, increasing L-carnitine in DDGS diets increased fresh LM color scores, but pigs fed DDGS-free diets produced LM chops with similar subjective color scores (linear DDGS × L-carnitine, P = 0.03). As expected, feeding DDGS increased (P < 0.001) iodine value (IV) in jowl fat samples, but dietary L-carnitine did not alter IV. The concentrations of C18:2n-6 and C20:2 were decreased with increasing L-carnitine in DDGS-containing diets, but not in diets without DDGS (linear DDGS × L-carnitine, P ≤ 0.04). Results of this study indicate that dietary DDGS did not affect growth, but led to more unsaturation of jowl fat, whereas feeding 50 mg/kg of L-carnitine improved HCW and reduced C18:2n-6 in jowl fat when fed in combination with DDGS.
authors: Department of Animal Sciences and Industry, College of Agriculture, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506-0201, USA.
authors: W
authors: W
authors: Ying
authors: M D
authors: MD
authors: Tokach
authors: J M
authors: JM
authors: DeRouchey
authors: T E
authors: TE
authors: Houser
authors: S S
authors: SS
authors: Dritz
authors: R D
authors: RD
authors: Goodband
authors: J L
authors: JL
authors: Nelssen
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D000821:Animal Feed / Q000032:analysis; D000824:Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000818:Animals; D001823:Body Composition / Q000187:drug effects*; D002331:Carnitine / Q000032:analysis / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004032:Diet / Q000662:veterinary; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D007455:Iodine / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat / Q000032:analysis; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D011897:Random Allocation; D034421:Sus scrofa / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D007455:Iodine; D002331:Carnitine