DIETARY VITAMIN E SUPPLEMENTATION ON PERFORMANCE AND LIPID OXIDATION OF PIGS

摘要

Lipid oxidation is an important shelf-life determinant of meats and meats products. Post-slaughter biochemical changes involved in the conversion of muscle to meat are accompanied by a loss of cellular antioxidant defenses and an increased tendency ofmeat lipids to undergo oxidation. Supplementation of the swine diet with vitamin E during the growing and finishing periods may improve pork quality, and also has been show to improve average daily gain and feed efficiency of pigs. However, little attention has been paid to effects of dietary enrichment with vitamin E on the quality of cured meat products, which are very susceptible to lipid oxidation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of extended dietary vitamin E supplementation on the growth and slaughter characteristics of pigs and keeping quality of resultant cured cooked hams as a function of storage time.