Non-invasive determination of body composition in pigs using a Norland XR-26 bone densitometer

摘要

Non-invasive measurement of body composition provides advantages in growth studies compared toconventional techniques. The same individual can be measured several times, the measurement is faster, and thenumber of pigs required as well as the random effect of animal are reduced. The aim of the present study was todetermine the composition of the half carcass and of the ham/shank region by a whole body dual-energy X-rayabsorptiometry (DXA) scan of the live pig using a Norland XR-26. Accuracy and precision of DXAmeasurement were evaluated by regression analysis between DXA-derived values and chemical analysis as wellas dissection. Pigs of different gender were used covering a wide range of body weights and body composition.Single regression analysis for lean and fat mass revealed a close relationship between half carcass DXA andchemical analysis (R² = 0.97 and R² = 0.91, respectively) as well as dissection (R² = 0.99 and R² = 0.98,respectively). The prediction accuracy (R²) was lower for the tissue percentages than for the respective tissuemasses. The relationship between live pig DXA and reference methods was close for dissected lean meat (R² =0.90) and adipose tissue mass (R² = 0.93). For chemical lean and fat mass, R² were slightly lower. Multipleregression analysis using one to four independent variables improved accuracy of prediction. The composition ofham and shank could be predicted more accurately than the half carcass composition.