REPLACEMENT OF RACTOPAMINE SUPPLEMENTATION BY SAFFLOWER AND COCONUT OIL IN DIETS FOR PIGS IN TERMINATION
β-adrenergic, fatty acids, lipid metabolism, organ weight, vegetable oils
This study aimed to evaluate the replacement of supplementation of ractopamine by the use of safflower and coconut oils in pig diet termination. 24 crossbred barrows were used with an average weight of 78.00 ± 8.76 kg, distributed in a randomized block design with four treatments and six replications. The treatments constituted of T1 – basal ration (BR); T2 – BR + 10 ppm of ractopamine; T3 – BR + 4g of coconut oil and T4 –BR + 4g of safflower oil. Assessed the performance parameters, organ weight, carcass characteristics, meat quality and profile of fatty acids by gas chromatography. Animals fed ractopamine and safflower oil showed better feed conversion. The highest weight gain was observed (p ≤ 0.05) in the animals supplemented with coconut oil and ractopamine. In relation to the weight of the organs, it was observed reduction (p ≤ 0.05) in the stomach weight of animals supplemented with coconut oil. There was a significant (p ≤ 0.05) reduction in the backfat thickness at point 3 of the animals supplemented with safflower oil and in the loin eye area there was a significant effect (p ≤ 0.05) on the ractopamine fed. The other carcass parameters were not observed (p > 0.05) difference between the treatments used. In the evaluation of the fatty acid profile, a higher concentration (p ≤ 0.05) of C12:0 and C14:0 was observed in the adipose tissue of the pigs supplemented with coconut oil. In the longissimus muscle dorsi there was the enrichment with ω-9, reduction of C18:1n9t in animals supplemented with oil safflower and elevation of C16:1 in supplemented with coconut oil. The use of safflower oil is recommended to replace the ractopamine, for presenting better feed conversion, reduce the backfat thickness and promote meat enrichment with ω-9.