EFFECTS OF SUBSTITUTING A CONCENTRATED DIET FOR CHESTNUTS ON THE LIPID TRAITS OF MUSCLE AND ADIPOSE TISSUES IN CORSICAN AND CORSICAN X LARGE WHITE-PIGS REARED IN A SYLVO-PASTORAL SYSTEM IN CORSICA

In the sylvo-pastoral extensive system in Corsica, pigs are fattened w ith chestnuts. The decrease in chestnut resource forces the farmers to use more and more concentrated diets for feeding the pigs but so far they have disregarded the consequences of this on meat quality. The ai m of the present study was to evaluate the effects of substituting a c oncentrated diet for chestnuts during the fattening period on the lipi d composition of adipose and muscle tissues of ham in Corsican and Cor sican x Large-White pigs. The results showed that the Corsican x Large -White pigs had heavier carcasses (125 kg versus 106 kg) and hams (12. 5 kg versus 10.2 kg) but the genotype affected neither the carcass fat ness nor the lipid composition of the adipose and muscle tissues. In a ddition, compared to chestnuts, the concentrated diet used did not aff ect live-weight, carcass and ham weights, or the carcass fatness of th e pigs at slaughter. However, pigs fattened with a concentrated diet h ad adipose tissue lipids, intramuscular triglycerides and phospholipid s with a lower proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (8.1% versus 6.2%, 5.8% versus 4.5%, and 47.7% versus 37.1%, respectively). (C) 199 8 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved