Effects of a traditional Chinese medicine formula supplementation on growth performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality and fatty acid profiles of finishing pigs

This study investigated the effects of a traditional Chinese medicine formula (TCMF) on growth performance, and meat quality and fatty acid profiles of finishing pigs. Ninety 146-day-old Pietrain × Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire pigs (84.1 ± 0.86 kg BW) were assigned randomly to three treatments with five replicates, six pigs per pen. Control group was fed basal diet and the other two groups were fed basal diet plus different doses of the TCMF (TCMF1: 2.5 g/kg feed; TCMF2: 5 g/kg feed). Growth performance was unaffected by TCMF (P > 0.05). Pigs fed the TCMF had higher crude fat content in muscle (P < 0.05) and lower level of malondialdehyde (P < 0.01) in muscle than those fed with the control diet. The a* values, subjective color scores and marbling scores at TCMF1 dietary treatment were increased (P < 0.05), but those at TCMF2 dietary treatment were similar to the control (P > 0.05). The concentration of vaccenic acid in longissimus dorsi and of total unsaturated fatty acids in abdominal adipose tissue were increased by TCMF1 (P < 0.05), while paullinic acid in subcutaneous fat was increased by TCMF2 (P < 0.05). In conclusion, TCMF fed to fattening pigs increased crude fat in meat and reduced lipid oxidation of pork meat.