Impact of Roughages and Herbs in Diets for Pigs on Quality of Fat in Meat and Back-fat

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of roughage and dried herbs mixture on the composition of fatty acid fractions in the Longissimus lumborum muscle and back-fat. The experiments were performed on 96 fatteners (three groups of 32 animals each). Group 1 (C) was fed a conventional ration based on concentrates, Group 2 (CR) received the conventional ration supplemented with roughages, and the group 3 (CRH) was fed the CR diet along with a herbal supplement. Diets containing roughages or roughages with herb supplement, significantly (P<0.05) contributed to increase dorsal back-fat thickening and suet share, but decrease the intramuscular fat content in meat. The addition of roughages resulted in changes in the fatty acid profiles of both the meat and back fat by lowering the saturated fatty acid content, and increasing poly unsaturated fatty acids contents in the meat. Herbal supplementation had rather a small impact on pig growth and fat deposition. Supplementation of roughages in the diet may cause subtle, but significant changes in lipids structure, thus improving the dietetic value of pig carcass lipid fraction respecting both subcutaneous and intramuscular fat, but the benefits of roughage use in pig diet must be weighed against slightly negative effects on pigs growth and carcass characteristics which include accelerated abdominal and subcutaneous fat deposition and decrease intra-muscular fat in meat.