• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.20 no.5
• /
• pp.761-767
• /
• 2007

This study was conducted to determine the effects of exogenous zinc-metallothionein (Zn-MT) on anti-oxidative function and pork quality. After feeding a corn-soybean meal-based diet for two weeks, 48 pigs ($Duroc{\times}Landrace{\times}Chinese\;Black Pig$) were assigned randomly to four groups. Pigs in Group 1 were maintained under non-stress conditions, whereas pigs in Groups 2, 3 and 4 were aggressively handled for 25 min to produce stress. Pigs in Groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 received intramuscular administration of saline (control group; CON), 0 (negative control group; NCON), 0.8 (low dose group; LOW), and 1.6 (high dose group; HIGH) mg rabbit liver Zn-MT per kg body weight, respectively. Pigs were slaughtered at 3 and 6 h post-injection. Zn-MT treatment increased (p<0.05) the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione-peroxidase (GSH-PX) while decreasing the concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) in liver. These responses were greater (p<0.05) at 6 h than at 3 h post Zn-MT injection. Zn-MT treatment increased (p<0.05) hepatic SOD mRNA levels in a time and dose-dependent manner and decreased (p<0.05) serum glutamate-pyruvate transaminase and lactate dehydrogenase activities (indicators of tissue integrity). Zn-MT administration decreased (p<0.05) lactate concentration and increased (p<0.05) pH and water-holding capacity in the longissimus thorasis meat. Collectively, our results indicate that intramuscular administration of Zn-MT to pre-slaughter stressed pigs improved tissue anti-oxidative ability and meat quality.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.11-19
• /
• 2016

Excessive application of nutrient supplement on the upland soil may increase the amount of discharge to surrounding water systems. The chemical fertilizer (CF), cow manure compost (CMC), and pig manure compost (PMC) are used as a nutrient supplement for cultivation of red pepper. Rice straws are widely used as a soil covering material in order to reduce weed occurrence, to protect soil moisture, and to supply organic matter in upland soil. This study was conducted to evaluate the furrow covering effect with rice straw on nutrient discharge in upland soil used for red pepper cultivation. The experimental plots of nutrient supplement were consisted of CF, CMC, and PMC and the amount of nutrient application were as recommended amount after soil test for red pepper cultivation. Each nutrient supplement treatment plot has no furrow covering (CFC) as a control and furrow covering with rice straw (FCS), respectively. Furrow covering with rice straw (FCS) of CF treatment and CMC treatment reduced the amount of T-N(total nitrogen) discharge by $1.4kg\;ha^{-1}$, $2.1kg\;ha^{-1}$, respectively, compared to control. While the amount of T-P(total phosphorus) discharge of the furrow covering with rice straw of CF, CMC, and PMC increased by $2.1kg\;ha^{-1}$, $2.1kg\;ha^{-1}$, and $0.2kg\;ha^{-1}$, respectively, compared to control. The phosphorus and nitrogen content of straw were 0.4 % and 0.3 % respectively. In addition, in three week the phosphorus was eluted from the straw which soaked in distilled water. Thus, it was assumed that T-P discharging originated from rice straw which applied as a furrow covering material. The furrow covering with rice straw reduced weed occurrence compared to control. But production of fresh red pepper was not influenced significantly by furrow covering with rice straw. In conclusion, excessive furrow covering with rice straw could induce T-P discharge from upland soil used for red pepper cultivation. Further studies are needed to evaluate the appropriate amount of rice straw as a furrow covering material.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.525-534
• /
• 2001

A total of 120 pigs were used to investigate the effects of yucca extracts on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, nutrient excretion and carcass characteristics of finishing pigs fed different levels of dietary protein. Pigs were allotted into $2{\times}3$ factorial design by the supplementation of yucca extracts (YE, 0 and 120 mg/kg) and 3 levels of dietary protein (14, 16, 18% for early finisher and 12, 14, 16% for late finisher for low, medium and high protein diet, respectively). During the early finishing period (51~76 kg BW), no significant difference was found in growth performance regardless of the YE supplementation or dietary protein levels. Growth performance of late finishing pigs (76~101 kg BW) was also not significantly different among treatments. However, ADG of pigs fed YE diet was significantly improved (p<0.05) regardless of the dietary protein levels. For the overall period (51~101 kg BW), although adding YE to the diet and elevating the protein level showed better ADG, there were no significant differences on growth performance among treatments. Early finishers showed significantly higher crude protein, crude ash and crude fat digestibilities when they were fed diets supplemented with YE. Digestibilities of amino acids were not affected by YE. Late finishers did not show any significant differences in proximate nutrient digestibilities regardless of YE supplementation or dietary protein levels. YE tended to slightly improve the CP digestibility, however no significant difference was found with increased dietary protein levels. There was no significant difference in amino acid digestibilities with YE supplementation or dietary CP levels during the late finishing period. Dry matter (DM) and nitrogen (N) excretion in feces did not show any significant difference among treatments. Early finishing pigs also did not respond to the inclusion of YE or dietary protein levels (p<0.05). Fecal N excretion of early finishing pigs seemed to be lowered in pigs fed YE. Pigs fed medium dietary protein diet tended to excrete a higher amount of N during the early finishing period, but not statistically different. A slight increase in fecal N excretion was found with the increased level of dietary protein during the late finishing period. For ammonia nitrogen excretion, although there was no significance, the NH3-N content tended to be increased by the increased dietary protein levels and with YE supplementation. The NH3-N content in manure increased by 24.5% with YE supplementation. There were no significant differences in carcass weight, backfat thickness, carcass grade and loin eye area among treatments. However, pigs fed non-YE with low protein diet showed a significantly (p<0.05) low carcass ratio among treatments and there was significant (p<0.05) difference between the YE-added treatment and non YE treatment in carcass ratio. As for the feed cost, the cost of feeding high level protein was higher than that of medium level protein by 5% and low level protein by 9% (p<0.05). Therefore, based on this study, it could be concluded that environmentally friendly agents might play a role to some extent in finishing pigs from the aspect of pollution control, and that more than 14 and 12% of dietary protein for early finishing and late finishing pigs respectively do not necessarily guarantee high growth performance.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.252-261
• /
• 2006

Four experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of organic or inorganic acid supplementation on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, intestinal measurements and white blood cell counts of weanling pigs. In growth trial (Exp I), a total of 100 crossbred pigs ({$Landrace{\times}Yorkshire$}${\times}$Duroc), weaned at $23{\pm}2$ days of age and $7.25{\pm}0.10kg$ average initial body weight (BW), were allotted to 5 treatments by body weight and sex in a randomized complete block (RCB) design. Three different organic acids (fumaric [FUA], formic [FOA] or lactic acid [LAA]) and one inorganic acid (hydrochloric acid [SHA]) were supplemented to each treatment diet. Each treatment had 5 replicates with 4 pigs per pen. During 0-3 wk, average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI) and feed efficiency (G/F ratio) were not significantly different among treatments. However, pigs fed LAA or SHA diet showed improved ADG by 15 or 13% respectively and 12% greater ADFI in both treatments compared to CON diets. Moreover, compared to organic acid treatments, better ADG (p = 0.07) and ADFI (p = 0.09) were observed in SHA diet compared to pigs that were fed the diet containing organic acids (FUA, FOA or LAA). However, during 4-5 wk, no differences in ADG, ADFI and G/F ratio were observed among treatments. Overall, ADG, ADFI and G/F ratio were not affected by acidifier supplementation. Although it showed no significant difference, pigs fed LAA or SHA diets showed numerically higher ADG and ADFI than pigs fed other treatments. In metabolic trial (Exp II), 15 pigs were used to evaluate the effect of acidifier supplementation on nutrient digestibility. The digestibility of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), crude fat (CF), crude ash (CA), calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) was not improved by acidifier supplementation. Although the amount of fecal-N excretion was not different among treatments, that of urinary-N excretion was reduced in acidsupplemented treatments compared to CON group (p = 0.12). Subsequently, N retention was improved in acid-supplemented groups (p = 0.17). In anatomical trial (Exp III), the pH and $Cl^-$ concentrations of digesta in gastrointestinal (GI) tracts were not affected by acidifier supplementation. No detrimental effect of intestinal and lingual (taste bud) morphology was observed by acidifier supplementation particularly in inorganic acid treatment. In white blood cell assay (Exp IV), 45 pigs were used for measuring white blood cell (WBC) counts. In all pigs after LPS injection, WBC counts had slightly declined at 2 h and kept elevating at 8 h, then returned to baseline by 24 h after injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). However, overall WBC counts were not affected by acidifier supplementation. In conclusion, there was no difference between organic and inorganic acidifier supplementation in weanling pigs' diet, however inorganic acidifier might have a beneficial effect on growth performance and N utilization with lower supplementation levels. Furthermore, inorganic acidifier had no negative effect on intestinal measurements and white blood cell counts in weanling pigs. These results suggested that inorganic acidifier might be a good alternative to organic acidifiers in weanling pigs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.286-291
• /
• 2006

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of growth performance, chemical composition and meat quality parameters by the addition of fermented persimmon shell diets (FPSD). The experimental animals were ninety-six Berkshires. The pigs were allotted at 8 per pen in front-open building with three replicate pens per treatment. Until $61{\pm}1kg$ live weight at 140 days, the animals were fed growing diet, after which, experimental samples were fixed at 0, 3, 5 and 7% FPSD as C, T1, T2 and T3 in the finishing diets. Pigs of $103{\pm}1kg$ live weight were slaughtered by electrical stunning. In growth performance, ADG increased more (p<0.05) in T2 than C and T1. ADFI (kg/day) was higher (p<0.05) in T2 than in other groups. Feed conversion ratio was lower (p<0.05) in T2 than in other groups. On longissimus dorsi muscle (LM), the content of moisture was lower (p<0.05) in T3 than in other treatments. Crude fat increased (p<0.05) by addition of FPSD. pH at 24 h ($pH_{24}$) decreased more (p<0.05) in T2 and T3 than C and T1 by addition of FPSD. WHC decreased (p<0.05) by addition of FPSD. In meat, Hunter $L^*$ and $a^*$ were lower (p<0.05) in C than in other treatments. Hunter $b^*$ was higher (p<0.05) in T3 than in other treatments. In back-fat, Hunter $L^*$ was higher (p<0.05) in C than in other treatments. Hunter $a^*$ was not different in C and T1 but increased (p<0.05) in treatments by addition of FPSD. Hunter $b^*$ increased (p<0.05) by addition of FPSD. In sensory evaluation scores, for fresh meat, the value of meat color was higher (p<0.05) in T2 and T3 than in C and T1. The value of marbling was lower (p<0.05) in C than in other treatments. The value of drip loss was higher (p<0.05) in C than in other treatments and was lower (p<0.05) in T2 and T3 than in other treatments. The results of cooked meat, the value of tenderness was not different in C and T1 but increased (p<0.05) in other treatments. The value of flavor was significantly higher (p<0.05) in T2 and T3 than in C and T1. The value of overall acceptability was increased (p<0.05) by addition of FPSD. Hence we can conclude that addition of FPSD affected growth performance and meat quality parameters, in particular, it improved crude fat, hunter $L^*$ and $b^*$, and sensory evaluation on pork and was also seen to affect $pH_{24}$ and WHC. FPSD can be used for improvement of meat quality parameters.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.32-39
• /
• 2018

Objective: In this study, we investigated the adverse effects of dietary zearalenone (ZEA) (0.5 to 1.5 mg/kg diet) on the localization and expression of the growth hormone receptor (GHR) in the uteri of post-weaning gilts and explored alternative mechanism of the reproductive toxicity of ZEA on piglets. Methods: A total of forty healthy piglets (Duroc${\times}$Landrace${\times}$Large White) aged 28 d were selected for study. Piglets were transferred to single cages after 10 days' adaptation on an obstetric table. The animals were allocated to one of four treatments: a normal basal diet supplemented with 0 (Control), 0.5 (ZEA0.5), 1.0 (ZEA1.0), or 1.5 (ZEA1.5) mg/kg purified ZEA, and fed for 35 d after the 10-d adaptation. Analyzed ZEA concentrations in the diets were 0, $0.52{\pm}0.07$, $1.04{\pm}0.03$, and $1.51{\pm}0.13mg/kg$, respectively. At the end of the feeding trial, piglets were euthanized after being fasted for 12 h. Two samples of uterine tissue from each pig were rapidly collected, one of which was stored at $-80^{\circ}C$ for analysis of the relative mRNA and protein expression of GHR, and the second was promptly fixed in Bouin's solution for immunohistochemical analysis. Results: The relative weight of the uteri and thickness of the myometrium and endometrium increased linearly (p<0.001) and quadratically (p<0.001) with an increasing level of ZEA. The results of immunohistochemical analysis indicated that GHR immunoreactive substance was mainly localizated in the cytoplasm of uterine smooth muscle, glandular epithelial, luminal epithelial, stromal, and vascular endothelial cells. In contrast, nuclear staining was rarely observed. The immunoreactive integrated optic density of GHR in the myometrium, luminal epithelium, glandular epithelium, and whole uteri of weaning gilts increased linearly (p<0.001) and quadratically (p<0.05) with an increasing level of ZEA. The mRNA and protein expression of GHR in the uteri of weaning gilts increased linearly (p<0.001) and quadratically (p<0.05) with an increasing level of ZEA. Conclusion: In conclusion, ZEA at a concentration of 0.5 mg/kg was sufficient to significantly thicken the myometrium and endometrium, and at a concentration of 1.0 mg/kg induced a high level of GHR expression to promote growth and development of the uteri. This revealed an alternative molecular mechanism whereby ZEA induces growth and development of the uteri and provides a theoretical basis for the revision of Chinese feed hygiene standards.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.279-309
• /
• 2009

Greenhouse gas emissions should be precisely forecast to reduce the emissions from industrial production processes. This study calculated the direct and indirect $CO_2$ emission intensities of 401 industries using the Input-Output tables 2003 and statistical data on the amount of energy use. This study had some limitations in drawing study findings because overseas data were used given the lack of domestic data. Other limiting factors included the oil distribution problems in the oil refinery sector, re-review of carbon neutral, and insufficient consideration of waste treatment. Nonetheless, this study is very meaningful since the direct and indirect $CO_2$ emission intensities of 401 industries were calculated. Specifically, this study considered from the zero-waste perspective the effects of waste, which attract interest worldwide since coke gas and gas from the steel industry are obtained as byproducts for the first time in Korea. According to the results of the analysis of $CO_2$ emission intensity per industry, typical industries whose indirect $CO_2$ emission intensity is high include crude steel making, Remicon, steel wire rods & track rail, cast iron, and iron reinforcing rods & bar steel. These industries produce products using the raw materials produced in the industrial sector whose $CO_2$ emission intensity is high. The representative industries whose direct $CO_2$ emission intensity is high include cement, pig iron, lime & plaster products, andcoal-based compounds. These industries extract raw ore from nature and refine them into raw materials that are useful in other industries. The findings in this study can be effectively used for the following case: estimation of target $CO_2$ emission reduction level reflecting each industrial sector's characteristics, calculation of potential emission reduction of each policy to reduce $CO_2$ emissions, identification of a firm's $CO_2$ emission level, and setting of the target level of emission reduction. Moreover, the findings in this study can be utilized widely in fields such as System of integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting(SEEA) and Material Flow Analysis(MFA) as the current topic of research in Korea.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.45 no.3
• /
• pp.377-386
• /
• 2003

A study was conducted to evaluate seasonal variations in chemical composition of food waste (FW) and its feeding effects on growth performance and pork quality in finishing pigs. FW was collected for 1 year (6 times a month) to establish a database for use of FW as a feed ingredient. For a feeding trial (8 weeks), a total of 117 pigs ${\times}$D; 54.80$\pm$4.60kg) were used to evaluate the processing effects of FW. Treatments were: Control (a corn-soybean meal diet without FW), simple dried FW (SD) and vacuum fermented FW (VF). The gross energy, crude protein, crude fat, ash, calcium and phosphorus in FW (DM, average of 4 seasons) were 5,111kcal/kg, 22.92%, 14.31%, 15.48%, 2.7% and 1.05%, respectively. Among seasons, the energy and crude protein contents were the highest (p<0.05) in winter and summer, respectively. In lactic acid bacterial counts, there was no difference between SD and VF. Pigs fed the control diet grew faster (p<0.05) than those fed diets containing food wastes, but not feed conversion ratio. There were no differences in production traits between SD and VF. No differences were also found in dressing percentage, backfat thickness, and pork quality (color, drip loss and TBARS) among treatments. The feed cost (￦/kg body weight) was lower in pigs fed FW than those fed a control diet. In conclusion, a pelleted diet containing food waste less than 20% would reduce feed cost in finishing pigs. However, it seems that a vacuum fermentation of food waste is not necessary for diet processing.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.53 no.1
• /
• pp.29-34
• /
• 2011

Using the materials collected from nine farms in a three-way cross system to produce commercial pigs produced from F1 sows (Landrace $\times$ Large White) $\times$ Duroc, the power of individual discrimination and parentage of the 13 microsatellite (MS) marker set that has been suggested for individual/brand identification (traceability) was empirically tested. Initially, genotypes of the parental population ($F_1$ sows and Duroc), and commercial pigs were determined and the genotype frequency and polymorphic index were estimated using the Cervus 2.0 program. The probability of identity among genotypes of random individuals, that random half sibs and that of full sib individuals, based on the genotypes from 91 $F_1$ sows and Duroc were expected to be $4.94{\times}10^{-34}$, $8.16{\times}10^{-23}$ and $2.01{\times}10^{-08}$, respectively, using the API-CALC version 1.0 program. When commercial pigs were included, the estimates increased to $3.74{\times}10^{-35}$, $5.48{\times}10^{-25}$ and $2.96{\times}10^{-11}$, respectively. For the empirical verification of the estimated powers of individual discrimination and parentage, the parentage test was performed for 452 commercial pigs using PAPA version 2.0, and individuals with the same genotype were investigated using the Cervus version 2.0 program. Parents for all commercial pigs were successfully estimated and no identical individual was identified in the pedigree. Although the individual discriminating power was not fully verified because of the lack of individuals corresponding with the theoretical power, the 100% efficiency of parentage test was clearly confirmed. Therefore, we believe that the 13 MS marker set in conjunction with management record/information for the pig production kept in a farm/brand should be useful in the pork traceability in a brand unit.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.52 no.5
• /
• pp.375-382
• /
• 2010

Twelve pigs were used to investigate the effects of polyclonal antibody candidate against abdominal (AAb) and subcutaneous adipocyte membrane proteins (SAb) on body weight, fecaldigestibility and blood metabolites. When AAb and SAb developed by Choi et al. (2010) were injected to pigs, the numerical increase in BW (body weight) occurred at 4 weeks post-treatment, but BW for an entire period was also increased, indicating that the BW increase may not be affected by the antibodies injection. Antibodies treatment did not affect (P>0.05) fecal digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, crude fat and crude fiber. Fecal digestibility of crude ash for control (no treatment) at 2 weeks decreased, and that for non-immunized serum treatmentgroup at 4 weeks post-treatment increased, respectively (P<0.05). However, fecal digestibility of crude ash for AAb and SAb groups did not significantly change. At 4 weeks after the antibodies treatment, blood urea N concentration for AAb and SAb groups was significantly increased (P<0.05). However, these increases may not be caused by the antibodies treatment because similar pattern in blood urea N concentration occurred before the antibodies treatment. Antibodies treatment did not affect concentration of plasma glucose and triglycerides (P<0.05). Compared with control, concentration of plasma total cholesterol for AAb and SAb groups at 4 weeks post-treatment was significantly (P<0.05) decreased. This may suggest that body fat reduction possibly occurs. In conclusion, the AAb and the SAb developed by Choi et al. (2010) may have safety in nutritional physiological metabolism in pigs. Further study on in vivo fat reduction of the antibodies against abdominal and subcutaneous adipocytes of pigs should be required for fat-reduced pork production.