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Dietary chromium yeast supplementation length in diets for growing-finishing pigs

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to evaluate different periods of chromium yeast (CrY) supplementation on growth performance and quantitative carcass characteristics of growing-finishing pigs. We used eighty barrows (Duroc/Pietran × Large White/Landrace) with an initial body weight of 24.5±2.4 kg. A completely randomized block design was used within four periods of dietary CrY supplementation (control diet: CrY-free, from 25 to 110 kg; Cr25-110 kg: diet with 0.4 mg kg−1 of CrY, from 25 to 110 kg; Cr50-110 kg: diet with 0.4 mg kg−1 of CrY, from 50 to 110 kg; and Cr70-110 kg: diet with 0.4 mg kg−1 of CrY, from 70 to 110 kg), with ten replicates and two animals each. The CrY supplementation did not affect (P>0.05) either the grow performance or the carcass characteristics evaluated. The dietary supplementation of 0.4 mg kg−1 of CrY for growing-finishing pigs (25 to 110 kg) does not alter the performance neither the quantitative carcass characteristics.

Keywords:
additives; carcass modifier; mineral; swine

1. Introduction

Chromium (Cr) is considered an essential nutrient for acting on the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, and protein (Ohh and Lee, 2005Ohh, S. J. and Lee, J. Y. 2005. Dietary chromium-methionine chelate supplementation and animal performance. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences 18:898-907. https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.2005.898
https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.2005.898...
). It is a component of the glucose tolerance factor, which increases the insulin signalization and stimulates the uptake of glucose and amino acids by target cells (Amata, 2013Amata, I. A. 2013. Chromium in livestock nutrition: A review. Global Advanced Research Journal of Agricultural Science 2:289-306.). A nutritional Cr deficiency can cause glucose intolerance, increase body fat and blood levels of insulin, cholesterol, and triacylglycerols, and reduce body protein in pigs (Pechova and Pavlata, 2007Pechova, A. and Pavlata, L. 2007. Chromium as an essential nutrient: a review. Veterinarni Medicina 52:1-18. https://doi.org/10.17221/2010-VETMED
https://doi.org/10.17221/2010-VETMED...
).

There is evidence that Cr supplementation improves the immune system (Wang et al., 2007Wang, M. Q.; Xu, Z. R.; Zha, L. Y. and Lindermann, M. D. 2007. Effects of chromium nanocomposite supplementation on blood metabolites, endocrine parameters and immune traits in finishing pigs. Animal Feed Science and Technology 139:69-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2006.12.004
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.200...
; Tian et al., 2014Tian, Y. Y.; Zhang, L. Y.; Dong, B.; Cao, J.; Xue, J. J. and Gong, L. M. 2014. Effects of chromium methionine supplementation on growth performance, serum metabolites, endocrine parameters, antioxidant status, and immune traits in growing pigs. Biological Trace Element Research 162:134-141. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-014-0147-9
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-014-0147-...
), protein and fat metabolism (Untea et al., 2017Untea, A. E.; Varzary, I.; Panaite, T. D.; Habeanu, M.; Ropota, M.; Olteanu, M. and Carnescu, G. M. 2017. Effects of chromium supplementation on growth, nutrient digestibility and meat quality of growing pigs. South African Journal of Animal Science 47:332-341. https://doi.org/10.4314/sajas.v47i3.10
https://doi.org/10.4314/sajas.v47i3.10...
), weight gain and feed efficiency (Li et al., 2013Li, Y. S.; Zhu, N. H.; Niu, P. P.; Shi, F. X.; Hughes, C. L.; Tian, G. X. and Huang, R. H. 2013. Effects of dietary chromium methionine on growth performance, carcass composition, meat colour and expression of the colour-related gene myoglobin of growing-finishing pigs. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences 26:1021-1029. https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.2013.13012
https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.2013.13012...
; Peres et al., 2014Peres, L. M.; Bridi, A. M.; Silva, C. A.; Andreo, N.; Barata, C. C. P. and Dário, J. G. N. 2014. Effect of supplementing finishing pigs with different sources of chromium on performance and meat quality. Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia 43:369-375. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1516-35982014000700005
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1516-3598201400...
), carcass characteristics (Jackson et al., 2009Jackson, A. R.; Powell, S.; Johnston, S. L.; Matthews, J. O.; Bidner, T. D.; Valdez, F. R. and Southern, L. L. 2009. The effect of chromium as chromium propionate on growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality, and the fatty acid profile of fat from pigs fed no supplemented dietary fat, choice white grease, or tallow. Journal of Animal Science 87:4032-4041. https://doi.org/10.2527/jas.2009-2168
https://doi.org/10.2527/jas.2009-2168...
; Park et al., 2009Park, J. K.; Lee, J. Y.; Chae, B. J. and Ohh, S. J. 2009. Effects of different sources of dietary chromium on growth, blood profiles and carcass traits in growing-finishing pigs. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences 22:1547-1554. https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.2009.80633
https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.2009.80633...
; Wang et al., 2014Wang, M. Q.; Wang, C.; Du, Y. J.; Li, H.; Tao, W. J.; Ye, S. S.; He, Y. D. and Chen, S. Y. 2014. Effects of chromium-loaded chitosan nanoparticles on growth, carcass characteristics, pork quality, and lipid metabolism in finishing pigs. Livestock Science 161:123-129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2013.12.029
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2013.12...
), and meat quality in pigs (Li et al., 2013Li, Y. S.; Zhu, N. H.; Niu, P. P.; Shi, F. X.; Hughes, C. L.; Tian, G. X. and Huang, R. H. 2013. Effects of dietary chromium methionine on growth performance, carcass composition, meat colour and expression of the colour-related gene myoglobin of growing-finishing pigs. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences 26:1021-1029. https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.2013.13012
https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.2013.13012...
). However, other studies did not show the same effects with dietary Cr supplementation (Tian et al., 2014Tian, Y. Y.; Zhang, L. Y.; Dong, B.; Cao, J.; Xue, J. J. and Gong, L. M. 2014. Effects of chromium methionine supplementation on growth performance, serum metabolites, endocrine parameters, antioxidant status, and immune traits in growing pigs. Biological Trace Element Research 162:134-141. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-014-0147-9
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-014-0147-...
; Tian et al., 2015Tian, Y. Y.; Gong, L. M.; Xue, J. X.; Cao, J. and Zhang, L. Y. 2015. Effects of graded levels of chromium methionine on performance, carcass traits, meat quality, fatty acid profiles of fat, tissue chromium concentrations, and antioxidant status in growing finishing pigs. Biological Trace Element Research 168:110-121. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-015-0352-1
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-015-0352-...
; Marcolla et al., 2017Marcolla, C. S.; Holanda, D. M.; Ferreira, S. V.; Rocha, G. C.; Serão, N. V. L.; Duarte, M. S.; Abreu, M. L. T. and Saraiva, A. 2017. Chromium, CLA, and ractopamine for finishing pigs. Journal of Animal Science 95:4472-4480. https://doi.org/10.2527/jas2017.1753
https://doi.org/10.2527/jas2017.1753...
). The source and concentration of Cr, supplementation period, nutritional status, stress status, health status, age, and genetics can be involved in the variation of responses observed among the studies (Amata, 2013Amata, I. A. 2013. Chromium in livestock nutrition: A review. Global Advanced Research Journal of Agricultural Science 2:289-306.). The main nutritional requirement guides (NRC, 2012NRC - National Research Council. 2012. Nutrient requirements of swine. 11th ed. National Academies Press, Washington, DC.; De Blas et al., 2013De Blas, C.; Gasa, J. and Mateos, G. G. 2013. Necesidades nutricionales para ganado porcino. Normas FEDNA. 2.ed. FEDNA, Madrid.; Rostagno et al., 2017Rostagno, H. S.; Albino, L. F. T.; Hannas, M. I.; Donzele, J. L.; Sakomura, N. K.; Perazzo, F. G.; Saraiva, A.; Abreu, M. L. T.; Rodrigues, P. B.; Oliveira, R. F.; Barreto, S. L. T. and Brito, C. O. 2017. Tabelas brasileiras para aves e suínos: composição de alimentos e exigências nutricionais. 4.ed. UFV, Viçosa, MG.) do not present a minimal level of dietary Cr for pigs.

There is evidence that Cr supplementation period may affect the responses of the pigs. In a 29-day trial before slaughter, Rodrigues et al. (2020)Rodrigues, G. P.; Kiefer, C.; Nascimento, K. M. R. S.; Corassa, A.; Garcia, E. R. M.; Marçal, D. A.; Silva, C. M. and Rocha, G. C. 2020. Combined supplementation of chromium-yeast and selenium-yeast on finishing barrows. Ciência Rural 50:e20190406. https://doi.org/10.1590/0103-8478cr20190406
https://doi.org/10.1590/0103-8478cr20190...
did not verify any effect of CrY on growth performance. However, Boleman et al. (1995)Boleman, S. L.; Boleman, S. J.; Bidner, T. D.; Southern, L. L.; Ward, T. L.; Pontif, J. E. and Pike, M. M. 1995. Effect of chromium picolinate on growth, body composition, and tissue accretion in pigs. Journal of Animal Science 73:2033-2042. https://doi.org/10.2527/1995.7372033x
https://doi.org/10.2527/1995.7372033x...
observed an increase in carcass muscle percentage and a reduction in carcass fat with a 50-day Cr supplementation; and Caramori Júnior et al. (2017)Caramori Júnior, J. G.; Kiefer, C.; Ferreira, E. V.; Vieira, B. S.; Oliveira, H. C.; Silva, C. M.; Abreu, R. C. and Luna, U. V. 2017. Chromium and selenium-enriched yeast for castrated finishing pigs: effects on performance and carcass characteristics. Semina: Ciências Agrárias 38:3851-3860. https://doi.org/10.5433/1679-0359.2017v38n6p3851
https://doi.org/10.5433/1679-0359.2017v3...
reported an increase in muscle depth with a Cr supplementation period of 66 days, and Matthews et al. (2001)Matthews, J. O.; Southern, L. L.; Fernandez, J. M.; Pontif, J. E.; Bidner, T. D. and Odgaard, R. L. 2001. Effect of chromium picolinate and chromium propionate on glucose and insulin kinetics of growing barrows and on growth and carcass traits of growing-finishing barrows. Journal of Animal Science 79:2172-2178. https://doi.org/10.2527/2001.7982172x
https://doi.org/10.2527/2001.7982172x...
showed an increase in carcass length with supplementation of 102 days.

These responses raise the hypothesis that increasing the dietary Cr supplementation period may improve the growth performance and carcass characteristics of pigs. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate different CrY supplementation periods on the performance and quantitative characteristics of the carcass of growing and finishing pigs.

2. Material and Methods

The experiment was carried out in an experimental farm located in Terenos, MS, Brazil (20°26′32" S latitude and 54°51′37" W longitude). Research was approved by the Institutional Committee on Animal Use (protocol number 625/2014).

We used eighty barrows (Duroc/Pietran × Large White/Landrace) with an initial body weight of 24.5±2.4 kg. Environmental variables were assessed daily throughout the experimental period, using a dry bulb thermometer, a wet bulb thermometer, and black globe thermometer installed in the center of the room. The black globe temperature and relative humidity index (BGHI) was calculated according to Buffington et al. (1981)Buffington, D. E.; Collazo-Arocho, A.; Canton, G. H.; Pitt, D.; Thatcher, W. W. and Collier, R. J. 1981. Black globe-humidity index (BGHI) as comfort equation for dairy cows. Transactions of the ASAE 24:711-714. https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.34325
https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.34325...
.

The animals were distributed in a completely randomized block design in one of dietary treatments [control: CrY-free diet for 94 days (25 to 110 kg); Cr25-110 kg: 0.4 mg kg−1 of CrY in the diet for 94 days (25 to 110 kg); Cr50-110 kg: 0.4 mg kg−1 of CrY in the diet for 65 days (50 to 110 kg); and Cr70-110 kg: 0.4 mg kg−1 of CrY in the diet for 43 days (70 to 110 kg)], with ten replicates (pens) of two pigs each. The initial weight was adopted as a criterion for block formation.

Diets (Table 1) were formulated to meet the nutritional requirements of pigs with high genetic potential and medium-superior growth performance according to the recommendations of Rostagno et al. (2011)Rostagno, H. S.; Albino, L. F. T.; Donzele, J. L.; Gomes, P. C.; Oliveira, R. F.; Lopes, D. C.; Ferreira, A. S.; Barreto, S. L. T. and Euclides, R. F. 2011. Tabelas brasileiras para aves e suínos: composição de alimentos e exigências nutricionais. 3.ed. UFV, Viçosa, MG.. The CrY was included in diets by adding a commercial product containing 1,600 mg kg−1 of CrY replacing the inert ingredient (kaolin).

Table 1
Centesimal and nutritional composition of the experimental diets

Pigs received feed and water ad libitum. The experimental period lasted 94 days. The animals were weighed at the beginning and at the end of the experimental phases (phase 1: 25 to 50 kg, phase 2: 50 to 70 kg, and phase 3: 70 to 110 kg) to calculate daily feed intake, daily weight gain, and feed conversion. Daily digestible lysine intake, daily crude protein intake, and daily metabolizable energy intake were estimated.

On day 95, all pigs were transported (approximately 1 h) to a commercial slaughterhouse and kept in pens with free access to water for approximately 6 h before slaughter. Hot carcass weight was taken immediately after evisceration. Backfat thickness, longissimus dorsi muscle depth, and predicted lean meat percentage were measured using a probe (Hennessy Granding System) inserted between the last thoracic and first lumbar vertebrae 5 cm from the middle line on the left side of the hot carcass). The predicted lean meat amount was calculated by multiplying the hot carcass weight by the predicted lean meat percentage. The bonification index, which is a factor correction that differentiates each hot carcass individually by the predicted lean meat percentage, was determined according to Guidoni (2000)Guidoni, A. L. 2000. Melhoria de processos para a tipificação e valorização de carcaças suínas no Brasil. p.221-234. In: 1ª Conferência Internacional Virtual sobre Qualidade de Carne Suína. Embrapa Suínos e Aves, Concórdia. Available at: <http://www.cnpsa.embrapa.br/sgc/sgc_publicacoes/anais00cv_guidoni_pt.pdf>. Accessed on: Oct. 15, 2020.
http://www.cnpsa.embrapa.br/sgc/sgc_publ...
.

Data were analyzed as a completely randomized block design using PROC GLM of SAS (Statistical Analysis System, version 9.4) with dietary treatment as a fixed effect and weight block as a random effect. The experimental unit was the pen for all analyses. The following statistical model was used:

Y i j k = μ + T i + B j + ε i j k ,

in which Yijk is the quantitative response variable, μ is the overall mean, T is the effect of the i-th treatment, B is the effect of the j-th block, and ε is the random error. Dunnett's test was applied to compare the results of the control diet with the inclusion of chromium at each phase according to Sampaio (1998)Sampaio, I. B. M. 1998. Estatística aplicada à experimentação animal. FEPMVZ, Belo Horizonte.: for the first phase, three control diets versus one chromium diet; for the second phase, two control diets versus two chromium diets; and for the third phase, a control diet versus three chromium diets. For the performance in the total period and for the carcass results, the degrees of freedom of chromium inclusion period were decomposed into orthogonal polynomials, to get the regression equations. Significance was set at P<0.05.

3. Results

The mean air temperature, relative air humidity, black globe temperature, and BGHI recorded during the experimental period were 27.7±2.0 °C, 75.0±12.0%, 28.1±2.1 °C, and 72.2±1.9 in phase 1; 27.2±2.1 °C, 78.0±9.0%, 27.6±2.1 °C, and 77.5±2.4 in phase 2; and 27.0±2.9 °C, 73.3±10.6%, 27.4±2.9 °C, and 77.0±3.6 in phase 3, respectively (Table 2).

Table 2
Ambiental condition means inside the barn in each experimental phase

There were no effects (P>0.05) of dietary CrY supplementation on growth performance for any of the evaluated phases (Table 3). The CrY supplementation also did not influence (P>0.05) the quantitative carcass characteristics evaluated (Table 4).

Table 3
Growth performance of barrows from 25 to 110 kg fed chromium yeast-supplemented diets for different periods
Table 4
Carcass characteristics of barrows from 25 to 110 kg fed chromium yeast-supplemented diets for different periods

4. Discussion

In the present study, the recorded mean environmental temperatures (27.7±2.0, 27.2±2.1, and 27.0±2.9 °C for phases 1, 2 and 3, respectively) are considered above the ideal for growing-finishing pigs (Nienaber et al., 1987Nienaber, J. A.; LeRoy Hahn, G. and Yen, J. T. 1987. Thermal environment effects on growing-finishing swine Part I-Growth, feed intake and heat production. Transactions of the ASAE 30:1772-1775. https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.30635
https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.30635...
). One of the primary effects observed in pigs subjected to heat stress is the reduction in feed intake (Campos et al., 2017Campos, P. H. R. F.; Le Floc'h, N.; Noblet, J. and Renaudeau, D. 2017. Physiological responses of growing pigs to high ambient temperature and/or inflammatory challenges. Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia 46:537-544. https://doi.org/10.1590/s1806-92902017000600009
https://doi.org/10.1590/s1806-9290201700...
). However, in the present study, even under air temperatures higher than the ideal, feed intake and weight gain of the animals were not altered and stayed in accordance with the Brazilian table of poultry and swine (Rostagno et al., 2017Rostagno, H. S.; Albino, L. F. T.; Hannas, M. I.; Donzele, J. L.; Sakomura, N. K.; Perazzo, F. G.; Saraiva, A.; Abreu, M. L. T.; Rodrigues, P. B.; Oliveira, R. F.; Barreto, S. L. T. and Brito, C. O. 2017. Tabelas brasileiras para aves e suínos: composição de alimentos e exigências nutricionais. 4.ed. UFV, Viçosa, MG.). This effect may be related to the presence of the water gutter in the pen contributing to heat dissipation.

All experimental diets were formulated to have equal nutrient concentration, except for the Cr level. Once there were no differences in ADFI, nutrient intake was similar for all treatments. A previous study found inconsistent responses of the effects of Cr supplementation on pig's growth performance and carcass characteristics (Gebhardt et al., 2019aGebhardt, J. T.; Woodworth, J. C.; Tokach, M. D.; DeRouchey, J. M.; Goodband, R. D.; Loughmiller, J. A.; Souza, A. L. P. and Dritz, S. S. 2019a. Influence of chromium propionate dose and feeding regimen on growth performance and carcass composition of pigs housed in a comercial environment. Translational Animal Science 3:384-392. https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txy104
https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txy104...
).

In pigs, Cr can promote the development of muscle tissue, due to the additional energy generated by the increase in glucose uptake by insulin-sensitive cells, which can later be used for protein synthesis, supporting the muscle growth and cell maintenance (Park et al., 2009Park, J. K.; Lee, J. Y.; Chae, B. J. and Ohh, S. J. 2009. Effects of different sources of dietary chromium on growth, blood profiles and carcass traits in growing-finishing pigs. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences 22:1547-1554. https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.2009.80633
https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.2009.80633...
). Thus, it was expected that the growth performance of the animals evaluated in the present study would be improved, considering the action of Cr as a digestibility enhancer and nutrient partitioner (Lindemann et al., 2008Lindemann, M. D.; Cromwell, G. L.; Monegue, H. J. and Purser, K. W. 2008. Effect of chromium source on tissue concentration of chromium in pigs. Journal of Animal Science 86:2971-2978. https://doi.org/10.2527/jas.2008-0888
https://doi.org/10.2527/jas.2008-0888...
).

The results of the present study corroborate with Tian et al. (2014)Tian, Y. Y.; Zhang, L. Y.; Dong, B.; Cao, J.; Xue, J. J. and Gong, L. M. 2014. Effects of chromium methionine supplementation on growth performance, serum metabolites, endocrine parameters, antioxidant status, and immune traits in growing pigs. Biological Trace Element Research 162:134-141. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-014-0147-9
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-014-0147-...
, who found no effect on growth performance for growing pigs (30 to 50 kg) fed diets supplemented with Cr methionine (0.8 mg kg−1) during 35 days, and Matthews et al. (2005)Matthews, J. O.; Guzik, A. C.; LeMieux, F. M.; Southern L. L. and Bidner, T. D. 2005. Effects of chromium propionate on growth, carcass traits, and pork quality of growing-finishing pigs. Journal of Animal Science 83:858-862. https://doi.org/10.2527/2005.834858x
https://doi.org/10.2527/2005.834858x...
, who reported no improvement in growth performance for finishing pigs (73 to 115 kg) supplemented with 0.2 mg kg−1 of Cr propionate for 54 days.

On the other hand, when investigating the supplementation of increasing dietary levels of Cr methionine (0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 mg kg−1) for 28 days in barrows from 75 to 100 kg, Li et al. (2013)Li, Y. S.; Zhu, N. H.; Niu, P. P.; Shi, F. X.; Hughes, C. L.; Tian, G. X. and Huang, R. H. 2013. Effects of dietary chromium methionine on growth performance, carcass composition, meat colour and expression of the colour-related gene myoglobin of growing-finishing pigs. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences 26:1021-1029. https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.2013.13012
https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.2013.13012...
observed a linear increase in weight gain and feed intake, 20 and 26% greater than the control diet, respectively. The increase in daily feed intake was also observed by Gebhardt et al. (2019bGebhardt, J. T.; Woodworth, J. C.; Tokach, M. D.; DeRouchey, J. M.; Goodband, R. D.; Loughmiller, J. A.; Souza, A. L. P.; Rincker, M. J. and Dritz, S. S. 2019b. Determining the influence of chromium propionate and Yucca schidigera on growth performance and carcass composition of pigs housed in a comercial environment. Translational Animal Science 3:1275-1285. https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txz117
https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txz117...
), when evaluating the isolated effect of Cr picolinate (0.2 mg kg−1) in pigs from 27 to 130 kg.

In turn, Peres et al. (2014)Peres, L. M.; Bridi, A. M.; Silva, C. A.; Andreo, N.; Barata, C. C. P. and Dário, J. G. N. 2014. Effect of supplementing finishing pigs with different sources of chromium on performance and meat quality. Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia 43:369-375. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1516-35982014000700005
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1516-3598201400...
observed an improvement of approximately 5% in weight gain and 7% in feed conversion in pigs from 60 to 107 kg fed diets with 0.2 mg kg−1 of Cr methionine. Xu et al. (2017)Xu, X.; Liu, L.; Piao, X. S.; Ward, T. L. and Ji, F. 2017. Effects of chromium methionine supplementation with different sources of zinc on growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality, serum metabolites, endocrine parameters, and the antioxidant status in growing-finishing pigs. Biological Trace Element Research 179:70-78. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-017-0935-0
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-017-0935-...
also found an improvement in feed conversion with Cr methionine supplementation in diets for pigs from 50 to 110 kg.

The results observed for carcass characteristic are accordance with the responses observed by Matthews et al. (2001Matthews, J. O.; Southern, L. L.; Fernandez, J. M.; Pontif, J. E.; Bidner, T. D. and Odgaard, R. L. 2001. Effect of chromium picolinate and chromium propionate on glucose and insulin kinetics of growing barrows and on growth and carcass traits of growing-finishing barrows. Journal of Animal Science 79:2172-2178. https://doi.org/10.2527/2001.7982172x
https://doi.org/10.2527/2001.7982172x...
, 2005Matthews, J. O.; Guzik, A. C.; LeMieux, F. M.; Southern L. L. and Bidner, T. D. 2005. Effects of chromium propionate on growth, carcass traits, and pork quality of growing-finishing pigs. Journal of Animal Science 83:858-862. https://doi.org/10.2527/2005.834858x
https://doi.org/10.2527/2005.834858x...
), Zhang et al. (2011)Zhang, H.; Dong, B.; Zhang, M. and Yang, J. 2011. Effect of chromium picolinate supplementation on growth performance and meat characteristics of swine. Biological Trace Element Research 141:159-169. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-010-8727-9
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-010-8727-...
, Peres et al. (2014)Peres, L. M.; Bridi, A. M.; Silva, C. A.; Andreo, N.; Barata, C. C. P. and Dário, J. G. N. 2014. Effect of supplementing finishing pigs with different sources of chromium on performance and meat quality. Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia 43:369-375. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1516-35982014000700005
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1516-3598201400...
, Gebhardt et al. (2019aGebhardt, J. T.; Woodworth, J. C.; Tokach, M. D.; DeRouchey, J. M.; Goodband, R. D.; Loughmiller, J. A.; Souza, A. L. P. and Dritz, S. S. 2019a. Influence of chromium propionate dose and feeding regimen on growth performance and carcass composition of pigs housed in a comercial environment. Translational Animal Science 3:384-392. https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txy104
https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txy104...
), Gebardht et al. (2019bGebhardt, J. T.; Woodworth, J. C.; Tokach, M. D.; DeRouchey, J. M.; Goodband, R. D.; Loughmiller, J. A.; Souza, A. L. P.; Rincker, M. J. and Dritz, S. S. 2019b. Determining the influence of chromium propionate and Yucca schidigera on growth performance and carcass composition of pigs housed in a comercial environment. Translational Animal Science 3:1275-1285. https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txz117
https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txz117...
), and Rodrigues et al. (2020)Rodrigues, G. P.; Kiefer, C.; Nascimento, K. M. R. S.; Corassa, A.; Garcia, E. R. M.; Marçal, D. A.; Silva, C. M. and Rocha, G. C. 2020. Combined supplementation of chromium-yeast and selenium-yeast on finishing barrows. Ciência Rural 50:e20190406. https://doi.org/10.1590/0103-8478cr20190406
https://doi.org/10.1590/0103-8478cr20190...
, who also did not observe the effect of supplementing organic sources of Cr on the quantitative carcass characteristics in the growth and finishing phases.

In the present study, it was expected that the Cr supplementation would provide a positive effect on carcass traits due to its mechanisms of action in maintaining glucose homeostasis, potentiating insulin in metabolizing fat, and increasing the uptake of glucose and amino acids for protein synthesis (Amata, 2013Amata, I. A. 2013. Chromium in livestock nutrition: A review. Global Advanced Research Journal of Agricultural Science 2:289-306.).

It can be inferred that the supplementation period was not a critical factor for the lack of a significant effect on the carcass characteristics in the present study, but probably the level of Cr supplementation. Caramori Júnior et al. (2017)Caramori Júnior, J. G.; Kiefer, C.; Ferreira, E. V.; Vieira, B. S.; Oliveira, H. C.; Silva, C. M.; Abreu, R. C. and Luna, U. V. 2017. Chromium and selenium-enriched yeast for castrated finishing pigs: effects on performance and carcass characteristics. Semina: Ciências Agrárias 38:3851-3860. https://doi.org/10.5433/1679-0359.2017v38n6p3851
https://doi.org/10.5433/1679-0359.2017v3...
reported an increase in muscle depth when evaluating a higher level of CrY (0.8 mg kg−1) in the diet for finishing pigs for a shorter period (66 days).

It is important to note that there is no nutritional recommendation for minimal Cr requirements for finishing pigs (Rostagno et al., 2017Rostagno, H. S.; Albino, L. F. T.; Hannas, M. I.; Donzele, J. L.; Sakomura, N. K.; Perazzo, F. G.; Saraiva, A.; Abreu, M. L. T.; Rodrigues, P. B.; Oliveira, R. F.; Barreto, S. L. T. and Brito, C. O. 2017. Tabelas brasileiras para aves e suínos: composição de alimentos e exigências nutricionais. 4.ed. UFV, Viçosa, MG.), and that the level of 0.4 mg kg−1 of Cr supplemented over a long period was not sufficient to promote positive effects on carcass characteristics. This hypothesis is corroborated by Lindemann and Lu (2019)Lindemann, M. D. and Lu, N. 2019. Use of chromium as an animal feed supplement. p.79-125. In: The nutritional biochemistry of chromium (III). 2nd ed. Vicent, J. B., ed. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-64121-2.00003-9
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-64121...
, who pointed out that the variability of the effects of Cr supplementation on carcass characteristics can be associated with the supplementation level and period, as well as body weight of pigs. For this reason, further studies are suggested to elucidate not only the period, but also the level of supplementation to better understand the results of the present and other studies.

5. Conclusions

The supplementation of 0.4 mg kg−1 of CrY in diets for growing and finishing pigs from 25 to 110 kg does not affect growth performance and quantitative carcass characteristics.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Fundação de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento do Ensino, Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul (FUNDECT), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES; Finance Code 001) for the financial support in the execution of the research project.

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Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    29 Nov 2021
  • Date of issue
    2021

History

  • Received
    23 July 2021
  • Accepted
    27 Oct 2021
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