The effects of dietary oregano oil supplementation on pig meat characteristics
2010
Simitzis, P.E. | Symeon, G.K. | Charismiadou, M.A. | Bizelis, J.A. | Deligeorgis, S.G.
The effects of different concentrations of dietary oregano essential oil supplementation on finishing pig meat characteristics were investigated in the present study. Thirty-two barrows and thirty-two gilts were divided into four equal groups. During the experimental period, which started when the animals were 5months old and finished after 35days, the first group was fed the control diet (group C), whereas the other three groups consumed the same diet, with the only difference that the feed was supplemented with oregano essential oil at concentrations of 0.25, 0.5 and 1ml/kg of fed diet (groups OR1, OR2 and OR3, respectively). At the end of the experiment, pigs were fasted for 12h, weighed and slaughtered. After overnight chilling, a 50cm loin section was removed from the half of the carcasses (8 pigs per nutritional treatment; 4 barrows and 4 gilts) and transported to laboratory for further examination. No significant differences were observed after dietary oregano essential oil supplementation in final body weight (kg), body weight gain (g) and dressing out (%). Tenderness of longissimus muscle, expressed as shear force value, pH values at 45min and 24h postmortem, colour parameters and sensory attributes of eating quality were not significantly influenced by the dietary treatment. Moreover, the lipid oxidation results suggested a lack of antioxidant effect for the oregano essential oil. In conclusion, carcass and meat quality attributes were unchanged, indicating that the dietary administration of different levels of oregano essential oil did not exert any effect on pig meat parameters in the present experiment.
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