An experiment was conducted to study the effect of dietary electrolytic balance (dEB) and addition of sodium bicarbonate to drinking water on carcass and meat quality of pigs. Sodium bicarbonate was used to adjust dEB to 140, 200 and 280 mEq/kg for T1, T2 and T, respectively. 144 Landrace*Duroc male pigs were allocated at 4 per pen and used until 105 kg liveweight. At the end pigs were kept in the same pens and diets for a week during which sodium bicarbonate rich water was supplied to a half of them. Therefore the experimental design was split in a factorial 2x3 and treated water was administered until slaughter. Forty-eight pigs were selected and sent to the slaughterhouse in order to evaluate the effect of experimental treatments on carcass and meat quality parameters. Enriched water significantly increase urine pH, hot and cold carcass weight and killing-out percentage (P<0.01). However did not affect fat or loin depth, lean meat percentage or chilling losses as well as meat quality parameters. pH of muscles Semimembranosus (SM) or Longissimus thoraccis (LT) measured at 45 min were not affected by dEB. However meat pH measured after 24 h statistically increased in both SM (P<0.01) and LT muscles (P<0.05). Pigs fed with low dEB showed a pH indicating meat with a tendency to become acid (5.5<pH<5.6) whereas meat from pigs of the other 2 groups has good ability to be consumed fresh or transformed. Electrical conductivity of SM muscle also indicated better meat quality of pigs fed medium and high dEB (P<0.05). Drip loss from the meat was also strongly reduced as a consequence of dEB (P<0.02). Meat from pigs fed low dEB lost the double of water than meat from pigs fed medium or high dEB. It can be concluded that dEB supplementation could positively affect meat quality parameters like pH 24h, electrical conductivity or drip losses. All these parameters were improved using finishing diets with a medium (200 mEq/kg) or high dEB (280 mEq/kg). Sodium bicarbonate in drinking water before slaughter did not seem to affect meat quality parameters. Nevertheless, it seems that it could improve carcass weight or killing-out percentage but those results need to be confirmed in other trials.

Twenty-seven intact male water buffaloes of Murrah breeding (BUFFALOES) and 18 Zebu type bulls (CATTLE) were savannah-fed on the same ranch and slaughtered when they reached a desirable conformation to be compared in slaughter characteristics, carcass traits, cutability and meat palatability. Slaughter weight ranged 435 to 512kg for BUFFALOES and 375 to 494kg for CATTLE. Least square mean differences between species in percent head, cooler shrink, feet, blood and genitals were not significant (P&gt;.05). BUFFALOES had significantly heavier hides, larger gastrointestinal tract and higher (P&gt;.05) percentages of liveweight removed as organ fat. These body components are partly responsible for the significantly lower dressing percentages (- 6.5 %) of BUFFALOES vs CATTLE. Non-significant differences were found between species for total percentages of trimmed fat and bone, and percent yield (P&gt;.05) of the most expensive (high valued, boneless) cuts. CATTLE yielded higher percentages (P&lt;.05) of the medium-valued cuts (+1.39%) and the composite group of boneless (high and medium valued) cuts (+2.06%); whereas buffaloes exceeded (+.86%) cattle in the proportion of low-valued cuts (P&lt;.05). Significant Specie x Carcass weight interactions were detected for some retail components. Longissimus steaks from CATTLE exhibited higher (P&lt;.001) shear values (5.05kg vs 3.52kg) (P&lt;.001) and lower (P&gt;.05) overall tenderness ratings (4..3 vs 4.8). It was concluded that commercial disadvantages of BUFFALOES in dressing percent and cutability detected herein, could be overcome by designing marketing strategies promoting the buffalo meat as a high-quality product. | Veintisiete machos enteros Murrah (BUFALOS) y 18 animales acebuados (VACUNOS) del mismo sexo, producidos bajo condiciones de sabana, fueron sacrificados al alcanzar una conformación deseable, para ser comparados en características al sacrificio y en canal, rendimiento carnicero y palatabilidad del longissimus. Los rangos de peso al sacrificio fueron 435 a 512kg para BUFALOS y 375 a 494kg para VACUNOS. Por mínimos cuadrados, no se detectó variación entre especies (P&gt;.05) en el porcentaje de cabeza, mermas por frío, patas, sangre y genitales. Con relación a su masa corporal, los BUFALOS tenían proporcionalmente cueros más pesados, tractos gastrointestinales más grandes y mayor deposición de (P&lt;.05) grasa en órganos, haciéndolos rendir 6.5% menos en canal que los VACUNOS. Las especies no se diferenciaron (P&gt;.05) en proporción de cortes deshuesados de alto valor, grasa recortada y hueso limpio. Los VACUNOS, rindieron más (P&gt;.05) en cortes de mediano valor (+1.39%) y total de cortes valiosos (+2.06%); mientras que los BUFALOS tuvieron mayor proporción de cortes de bajo valor (+.86%; P&gt;.05). La interacción especie x peso de la canal fue significativa para algunos cortes. La carne de VACUNOS necesitó más fuerza de corte (5.05 vs 3.52kg) (P&lt;.001) y obtuvo una puntuación más baja (P&lt;.05) en terneza (4.3 vs 4.8). Las desventajas de rendimiento, tanto en canal como en cortes de BUFALOS frente a VACUNOS podría compensarse a través de estrategias de mercado para promover una carne de alta calidad.

To assess this study, weaned piglets (at 28 days) received three dietary treatments until 39 days of age: (1) 12,5 mg alpha tocopheryl acetate/kg feed (2) 6,75 mg/l d-alpha tocopherol in drinking water (ratio 1:2) (3) 4,5 mg/l d-alpha tocopherol in drinking water (ratio 1:3). Alpha- Tocoferol accumulation was not significantly affected in any of the tissues analysed which would indicate a more efficient absorption of natural vitamin E in drinking water than the synthetic source in feed. Moreover, the lowest supplementation in drinking water (group 1:3) led to similar concentrations of vitamin E in tissues than the group supplemented with higher concentration (group 1:2). Consequently, when weaned piglets are fed under the minimum established requirements the minimum natural vitamin E supplementation to produce an equivalent tissues vitamin E concentration would be establish at 1:3 (water:feed).