Impact of increasing levels of condensed tannins from sainfoin in the grower–finisher diets of entire male pigs on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality

Sainfoin is a protein-rich legume with an ideal amino acid profile and therefore could partly replace soybeans in the diets of growing pigs. However, sainfoin also contains a non-negligible amount of condensed tannins (CTs), which can act as antinutritional factors. Bioactive plant compounds, like hydrolysable tannins, have been suggested to be suitable in entire male (EM) production, as they impair the development of accessory sex glands and, by that, reduce boar taint compound levels without negatively impacting growth. It is unknown whether, similar to hydrolysable tannins, CTs from sainfoin reduce the incidence of boar taint without impacting growth performance, carcass traits, and meat quality. For the experiment, 48 Swiss Large White EM were assigned within litter to one of four grower (25–60 kg BW) and finisher (60–105 kg BW) diets supplemented with 0 (T0), 5 (T5), 10 (T10), and 15% (T15) sainfoin meal, respectively. The four diets were designed to be isocaloric and isoproteic. Increasing the dietary sainfoin level had no negative effect on growth performance or the carcass characteristics. Despite leading to a similar feed intake between the treatment groups, increasing the dietary sainfoin levels tended (P ≤ 0.08) to reduce the number of feeder visits but increased the time spent at the feeder as well as the feed intake per visit during the finisher period. By increasing sainfoin intake, the levels of C18:3n-3 and long-chain homologs linearly increased (P < 0.01) in the backfat and intramuscular fat (IMF), whereas in the backfat, but not the IMF, the 18:2n-6 levels decreased (P < 0.01). The latter triggered a greater (P < 0.01) desaturation rate (C18:1n-9/C18:0) of the saturated fatty acids, resulting in a greater (P < 0.01) proportion of monounsaturated fatty acid. Apart from a linear decrease (P = 0.02) in the androstenone levels in the longissimus thoracis (LT), increasing the sainfoin intake had no effect on the level of boar taint in the LT and backfat. As determined by the elevated correlation coefficient, skatole and indole levels, but not androstenone levels, in the adipose tissue seem to be reliable proxies for their respective levels in LT and, therefore, in pork. In conclusion, sainfoin is a suitable homegrown protein source for grower finisher pigs and can be included at up to 15% in the diet to replace 7% of soybean in a diet without producing any noteworthy effects on growth, whereas the impact of CTs on boar taint was limited.