Metabolic Profile of Growing Immune- and Surgically Castrated Iberian Pigs Fed Diets of Different Amino Acid Concentration
Ignacio Fernández-Fígares,
Ana Haro,
Manuel Lachica,
Luis Lara,
Isabel Seiquer,
Rosa Nieto
Affiliations
Ignacio Fernández-Fígares
Department of Nutrition and Sustainable Animal Production, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, Spanish National Research Council, CSIC, Profesor Albareda, s/n, 18008 Granada, Spain
Ana Haro
Department of Nutrition and Sustainable Animal Production, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, Spanish National Research Council, CSIC, Profesor Albareda, s/n, 18008 Granada, Spain
Manuel Lachica
Department of Nutrition and Sustainable Animal Production, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, Spanish National Research Council, CSIC, Profesor Albareda, s/n, 18008 Granada, Spain
Luis Lara
Department of Nutrition and Sustainable Animal Production, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, Spanish National Research Council, CSIC, Profesor Albareda, s/n, 18008 Granada, Spain
Isabel Seiquer
Department of Nutrition and Sustainable Animal Production, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, Spanish National Research Council, CSIC, Profesor Albareda, s/n, 18008 Granada, Spain
Rosa Nieto
Department of Nutrition and Sustainable Animal Production, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, Spanish National Research Council, CSIC, Profesor Albareda, s/n, 18008 Granada, Spain
The purpose of the current study was to further characterize the performance and nitrogen retention differences previously observed between immunocastrated (IC) and surgically castrated (SC) pure Iberian pigs. Fifty-four pigs were used (three sexes: IC males, IC females and SC males), fed three isoenergetic diets (160, 140 and 120 g CP/kg DM; six pigs/treatment combination) from 40 kg BW until slaughter (105 kg BW). Plasmatic post-absorptive metabolites and hormones, and backfat tissue composition were determined. The IC males showed a trend towards higher plasmatic creatinine (p = 0.06) and IGF-1 concentrations than SC males and IC females (p p p p p = 0.09). The present results support the increased performance and nitrogen retention capacity previously observed in IC male Iberian pigs compared to SC males and IC females, which can be attributed to increased anabolic capacity related with lean growth in Iberian IC males.
