Effects of lycopene and tomato paste on oxidative stability and fatty acid composition of fresh belly meat in finishing pigs

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of dietary lycopene and tomato paste on plasma lipids, malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations and fatty acid composition of fresh belly meats from finishing pigs. In addition, lycopene concentrations in fresh belly meat were measured. A total of 60, 18-week-old crossbred pigs (Landrace × Yorkshire × Duroc) were fed four dietary treatments for four weeks. The diets included a base diet of maize and soybean meal (control treatment) and the base diet mixed with lycopene (20 mg/kg of diet); or tomato paste (3.4 g/100 g diet); or both (10 mg/kg lycopene and 1.7 g tomato paste/100 g diet). Supplementing pigs with lycopene and/or tomato paste did not affect production traits, plasma lipids including total lipids, total cholesterol, high-density and low-density cholesterols, and triglycerides. The dietary lycopene or tomato paste resulted in significantly lower (p