The effects of dietary oregano oil supplementation on pig meat characteristics

• Published in: Meat science Vol. 84; no. 4; pp. 670 - 676
• Main Authors: Simitzis, P.E., Symeon, G.K., Charismiadou, M.A., Bizelis, J.A., Deligeorgis, S.G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2010; [Amsterdam]: Elsevier Science; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animal Feed; Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; animal performance; Animals; antioxidant activity; antioxidants; barrows; Biological and medical sciences; color; Cooking; Diet - veterinary; dietary supplements; drip loss; eating quality; essential oils; Fat industries; feed conversion; Female; finishing; food acceptability; Food industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; gilts; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; lipid oxidation; liveweight gain; longissimus dorsi; Male; Meat - standards; Meat and meat product industries; meat quality; meat tenderness; oregano; Oregano supplementation; Origanum - chemistry; Oxidation; Pig meat; plant extracts; Plant Oils - chemistry; Plant Oils - pharmacology; pork; Quality characteristics; rigor mortis; sensory evaluation; shear stress; slaughter; slaughter weight; Swine; swine feeding; Pig meat; Oxidation; Oregano supplementation; Quality characteristics; Farming animal; Spice; Meat product; Oregano; Feeding; Pig; Meat; Vertebrata; Meat animals; Mammalia; Oil; Quality; Artiodactyla; Supplementation; Ungulata
• ISSN: 0309-1740; 1873-4138
• DOI: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2009.11.001

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 5 months old and finished after 35 days, 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 1 ml/kg of fed diet (groups OR1, OR2 and OR3, respectively). At the end of the experiment, pigs were fasted for 12 h, weighed and slaughtered. After overnight chilling, a 50 cm 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 45 min and 24 h 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.