Abstract

BackgroundIn the livestock industry, intramuscular fat content is a key factor affecting meat quality. Many studies have shown that dietary calcium supplementation is closely related to lipid metabolism. However, few studies have examined the relationship between dietary calcium supplementation and intramuscular fat accumulation.MethodsHere, we used C2C12 cells, C57BL/6 mice (n = 8) and three-way cross-breeding pigs (Duroc×Landrace×Large white) (n = 10) to study the effect of calcium addition on intramuscular fat accumulation. In vitro, we used calcium chloride to adjust the calcium levels in the medium (2 mmol/L or 3 mmol/L). Then we measured various indicators. In vivo, calcium carbonate was used to regulate calcium levels in feeds (Mice: 0.5% calcium or 1.2% calcium) (Pigs: 0.9% calcium or 1.5% calcium). Then we tested the mice gastrocnemius muscle triglyceride content, pig longissimus dorsi muscle meat quality and lipidomics.ResultsIn vitro, calcium addition (3 mmol/L) had no significant effect on cell proliferation, but promoted the differentiation of C2C12 cells into slow-twitch fibers. Calcium supplementation increased triglyceride accumulation in C2C12 cells. Calcium addition increased the number of mitochondria and also increased the calcium level in the mitochondria and reduced the of key enzymes activity involved in β-oxidation such as acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase. Decreasing mitochondrial calcium level can alleviate lipid accumulation induced by calcium addition. In addition, calcium addition also reduced the glycolytic capacity and glycolytic conversion rate of C2C12 cells. In vivo, dietary calcium supplementation (1.2%) promoted the accumulation of triglycerides in the gastrocnemius muscle of mice. Dietary calcium supplementation (1.5%) had no effect on pig weight, but significantly improved the flesh color of the longissimus dorsi muscle, reduced the backfat thickness and increased intramuscular fat content in pigs. Besides, calcium addition had no effect on longissimus dorsi pH, electrical conductivity and shear force.ConclusionsThese results suggest that calcium addition promotes intramuscular fat accumulation by inhibiting the oxidation of fatty acids. These findings provide a new tool for increasing intramuscular fat content and an economical strategy for improving meat quality.

Highlights

  • In the meat production industry, subcutaneous and visceral fat pads are considered to be useless [1, 2]

  • It was found that 0 mol/L and 0.5 mmol/L calcium significantly inhibited the cell viability compared to the normal calcium concentration (2 mmol/L), while other concentrations did not significantly change cell viability (Fig. 1A) (0: P = 0.001; 0.5: P = 0.003)

  • The results showed that the expression of the differentiation marker genes increased more than 100 fold, which proved that our differentiation was successful (Fig. 1B) (Myog P = 0.014; Myosin heavy chain (Myhc) P = 0.003)

Read more

Summary

Introduction

In the meat production industry, subcutaneous and visceral fat pads are considered to be useless [1, 2]. Intramuscular fat (IMF) is one of the criteria used to evaluate meat quality [3]. IMF is closely related to meat quality, affecting characteristics such as flavor, water retention and tenderness [4] and high IMF content is believed to promote sensory experience during eating [5]. High IMF is beneficial to meat quality, reducing carcass fat content is the current direction of animal husbandry production [7]. Reducing carcass fat content while increasing IMF has become a struggle in current research [7, 8]. Intramuscular fat content is a key factor affecting meat quality. Few studies have examined the relationship between dietary calcium supplementation and intramuscular fat accumulation

Methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call