Effects of high vitamin and micro-mineral supplementation on growth performance and pork quality of finishing pigs under heat stress

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of heat stress (HS) on the production performance of fattening pigs and whether the supplementation of vitamins (C and E) and micro-minerals (Se and Zn) at increased concentrations can mitigate HS adverse effects. Thirty six Danbred hybrid barrows (65.1 ± 2.81 kg) were randomly distributed into four treatments 1) HS (28.9 ± 0.9 °C, RH- 60.4 ± 4.3 %) + control diet (HC), 2) HS + diet 1 (HT1), 3) HS + diet 2 (HT2), and 4) thermo-neutral conditions (19.5 ± 0.9 °C, RH- 85.9 ± 7.3 %) + control diet (TC). Bodyweight and feed intake were measured weekly for four weeks. After the experiment, six pigs from each treatment were slaughtered, and the longissimus lumborum muscle was sampled to evaluate meat quality. At week four, HS significantly affected pig body weight (p < 0.05). However, the other parameters were not significantly affected by HS,while slight improvements in these parameters were observed by supplementing vitamins and micro-minerals in the diet of the pigs despite exposure to HS. Therefore, the pigs used in the study showed resilience to adverse effects of HS on growth and meat quality parameters. The content of vitamins C and E and microminerals Se and Zn in the diet seems to play an important role in resilience to HS, therefore their requirement and supplementation should be carefully evaluated.