Abstract
Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of diets containing different levels of dried tuber of Jerusalem artichoke, Helianthus tuberosus, on skatole levels in backfat and on the CYP2E1 mRNA expression in the liver of commercial crossbred pigs. A total of 23 uncastrated male pigs from 10 litters of a commercial crossbred population of Large White × (Landrace × Large White), were used in this study. Boars were randomly divided into four different dietary treatment groups – a control group (K1; 5 boars; without supplementation of Jerusalem artichoke) and three experimental groups (6 boars each) that were fed with the diet containing different levels of dried Jerusalem artichoke (K2 – 4.1%; K3 – 8.2%; K4 – 12.2%) for 14 days before slaughter. Significant effects of diet on skatole levels were observed between the control group and the experimental groups (P = 0.0078). The lowest level of skatole was in the K3 group with 8.2% of Jerusalem artichoke. As for CYP2E1, a negative correlation was observed between the levels of skatole and CYP2E1 mRNA expression. Significant effect (P = 0.0055) was found in all experimental groups compared to the K1 group, and most pronounced in the K2 and K3 groups. The supplementation with Jerusalem artichoke resulted in lower level of skatole and higher CYP2E1 mRNA expression. The results suggest that affecting the expression of CYP2E1 by feed supplements could be an option to effectively reduce the levels of skatole in adipose tissue of entire male pigs.
Highlights
Skatole accumulation in adipose tissue is one of the predominant factors causing boar taint (Bilić-Šobot et al, 2016)
The hypothesis was that the supplementation of Jerusalem artichoke to pig diet should increase the CYP2E1 mRNA expression in boar livers and at the same time decrease the content of skatole in backfat
Boars were randomly divided into four different dietary treatment groups – a control group (K1; 5 boars; without Jerusalem artichoke, Helianthus tuberosus) and three experimental groups (6 boars each) that were fed with the diet containing different levels of dried Jerusalem artichoke tuber (K2 – 4.1%; K3 – 8.2%; K4 – 12.2%) in feed rations, which were fed for 14 days before slaughter (Table 1)
Summary
Skatole accumulation in adipose tissue is one of the predominant factors causing boar taint (Bilić-Šobot et al, 2016). Skatole is formed from amino acid L-tryptophan in the large intestine of monogastric animals during the microbial degradation of proteins (Bilić-Šobot et al, 2016; Zadinová et al, 2016) It is metabolized in liver mainly by cytochrome P450 (CYP450) enzymes, of which CYP2E1 (cytochrome P450, family 2, subfamily E, polypeptide 1) plays a major role. Earlier studies report that feeding pigs with diets supplemented with carbohydrates that are not enzymatically hydrolysed in the small intestine but fermented in the hindgut, can increase CYP2E1 mRNA expression in the liver, and can reduce skatole levels in the hindgut and skatole accumulation in adipose tissue (Borrisser-Pairó et al, 2015; Wesoly and Weiler, 2012; Zammerini et al, 2012). Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), with 50% inulin, has been confirmed to have a similar effect as chicory Offering it one week before slaughter showed a tendency towards a decrease of skatole levels in fat (Vhile et al, 2012). The hypothesis was that the supplementation of Jerusalem artichoke to pig diet should increase the CYP2E1 mRNA expression in boar livers and at the same time decrease the content of skatole in backfat
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