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A number of herbs and medicinal plant by-products have received attention from animal scientists as feed additives for livestock, because of their functional components and functional activities as antioxidant, immunomodulatory, cholesterol lowering and anti-inflammatory properties, however, few of these studies have investigated its effects on meat quality. The effects of an herb combination (pomegranate, Ginkgo biloba, licorice) in natural (NPGL) or fermented (FPGL) form administered as 0.4% of the basal diet on the performance and meat quality of grower-finisher pigs was evaluated.
Dietary supplementation with NPGL or FPGL reduced the feed intake and backfat thickness of pigs, while increasing lean production. Serum IgG was higher in the FPGL supplemented group. Remarkably, ingestion of NPGL and FPGL reduced the ether extract in the longissimus dorsi muscle (LDM) with increased moisture, whereas the cholesterol was lower in the NPGL group. Dietary supplementation of NPGL and FPGL increased the n − 3 fatty acid in LDM with a reduced ratio of n − 6/n − 3. Both NPGL and FPGL significantly reduced the tiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) value of pigmeat as a measure of the oxidative status when fresh and after 2 and 3 weeks of storage.
Overall, dietary NPGL and FPGL improved the quality of pigmeat by increasing the n − 3 fatty acid levels while reducing the ether extract and TBARS value.
Ahmed, S. T., Mun, H. S., Islam, M. M., Ko, S. Y., & Yang, C. J. (2016). Effects of dietary natural and fermented herb combination on growth performance, carcass traits and meat quality in grower-finisher pigs. Meat Science, 122, 7-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2016.07.016