Biochemical characterization of meat of Calabrese × Large White pig reared in outdoor or indoor housing system: preliminary results

Abstract

This work reports some results concerning protein and lipid profiles of pork from 12 subjects of Calabrese Ancient Local Genetic Type (ALGT) × Large White (LW) crosses reared in outdoor or indoor housing system. Aim of this paper is to examine the effect of two housing systems on protein and lipid profiles. Analysis of the proteome of the water soluble fraction (sarcoplasmic) was carried out on meat samples obtained from muscle Caput Longum Tricipitis Brachii (CloTB). The analysis covered a total of 12 samples and 24 two-dimensional gel electrophoresis maps (2 for each sample), which were digitized for subsequent image analysis and used for spot identification by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The comparison of 24 two-dimensional maps was performed by Image Master 2D-Platinum software in order to establish the relative intensity, expressed as vol%, of each spot for each gel. Image analysis produced 12 common spots in all maps analyzed. The housing system did not influence the relative abundance (vol%) of 12 spots detected. These proteins, identified by peptide mass fingerprint, are grouped according to their biological function as metabolic, cellular defense and transport protein. Inter and intra-muscular fatty acid profiles of CloTB was determined by gaschromatography. No significant differences for the fatty acids content were observed between the two housing systems suggesting that intrinsic factors, such as the genetic asset, may be more important than extrinsic factors.