Supplementation of thymol powder or green tea extract along with linseed in pig diet increases oxidative stability in blood and pork

Abstract

This trial investigated the influence of dietary extruded linseed combined with plant extract on pig performance, blood lipid profiles, meat quality, oxidative stability and the fatty acid composition of meat and backfat. Four-hundred and eighty crossbred pigs were randomly allocated to four dietary treatments, namely, a control diet (T1), the control diet supplemented with extruded linseed (T2) and identical T2 diet supplemented with thymol powder (T3) or green tea extract (T4). The extruded linseed supplementation decreased blood triglycerides, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol and improved fatty acid composition of meat and backfat by increasing n-3 PUFA content and decreasing the n-6/n-3 ratio (p < .05). However, it led to decrease the oxidative stability of blood and meat, while supplementation with thymol powder or green tea extract increased the oxidative stability of blood (27.08 and 27.53% in T3 and T4 compared with T2, respectively) and meat (40.15 and 41.21% in T3 and T4 compared with T2, respectively; p < .01). The findings conclude that dietary extruded linseed combined with thymol powder or green tea extract has the potential to produce functional pork. Highlights Feeding pigs an extruded linseed meal supplement reduced blood triglyceride, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels. Extruded linseed supplementation increased the n-3 PUFA content of pigs’ meat and backfat. Supplementing an enriched n-3 PUFA diet with thymol powder or green tea extract increased the oxidative stability of pigs’ blood and meat.