Relative contribution of production factors on the fatty acid composition of differentiated pork

摘要

The objective of this study was to investigate the relative contribution of breed (Duroc, Lacombe and Iberian boars crossed to Large White x Landrace dams), slaughter weight (115 and 135 kg), sex (barrows and gilts), diet (Control, Canola or Flax) and their interactions on the fatty acid composition of intramuscular and subcutaneous fat of pigs. In intramuscular fat, most of the variability observed in 18:3 n-3 (0.76) was explained by dietary treatment (88.7%), followed by breed (5.26%) and the breed x diet interaction (4.4%). Furthermore, diet contributed more than 94% of the explained variability observed in n-6-3 (0.81). In subcutaneous fat, the same factors contributed to the explained variance in 18:3n-3 (0.84), and in n-6-3 (0.90), in a similar order. On the other hand, in the explained variance of 18:2n-6, for both intramuscular and subcutaneous fat (0.38 and 0.59, respectively) breed was the most influential factor (68.9 and 68.2%, respectively). Some individual fatty acids and indices were also affected by both sex and slaughter (P < 0.05). Understanding the contribution of each factor and their interactions will help the pork industry in the production of consistent differentiated products.