Effects of body weight on some blood plasma parameters of pigs from the Alentej...

• Author(s): Martins, J.M. ; Neves, J.A. ; Freitas, A.B. ; Nunes, J.T.
• Date: 2007
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10174/3496
• Origin: Repositório Científico da Universidade de Évora
• Subject(s): Alentejano pig; Body weight; Blood plasma parameters; Glucose; Lipids; Lipoproteins
• Document Type: Article
• Language: English

Description

This work has evaluated the influence of body weight (BW) on some plasma parameters of Alentejano pigs. Thirty castrated Alentejano pigs (~35 kg BW) were allocated in individual pens and fed a commercial diet (0.85x ad libitum). The pigs were slaughtered in groups (n=5) with an average BW of 42.2, 70.9, 80.2, 90.1, 100.5, and 110.2 kg. Plasma samples obtained at slaughter were analysed. Glucose and triacylglycerol levels decreased (P=0.05) with increasing BW, suggesting that during growth Alentejano pigs increased the use of glucose and triacylglycerols as energy and substrate for fat synthesis and deposition. Total cholesterol increased (P=0.05) with BW, due to an increase (P=0.05) in the low‑ density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level, following the trends reported in ageing mammals. The Alentejano pig, with a high lipogenic activity, could be a valuable model for studies of the cholesterol metabolism.