Influences of dietary protein sources and crude protein levels on intracellular free amino acid profile in the longissimus dorsi muscle of finishing gilts

Table 3 Effect of dietary crude protein source and level on carcass characteristics and meat quality of finishing gilts (90–113 kg, n = 6)

Item	Protein source		Protein level		SEM	P
Item	Cottonseed meal	Soybean meal	12 %	14 %	SEM	Source	Level	Source × Level
Carcass traits
Carcass weight, kg	86.80	85.70	87.40	85.00	1.80	0.66	0.36	0.51
Dressing percentage, %	75.65	76.60	76.74	75.50	0.63	0.30	0.19	0.22
Backfat depth (at the 10th rib), mm	26.15	25.08	25.08	26.19	1.12	0.52	0.52	0.82
Backfat depth (at the last rib), mm	26.16	24.50	25.56	25.10	1.88	0.39	0.81	0.23
Longissimus muscle area, cm²	50.80	51.90	50.50	52.20	1.46	0.60	0.43	0.89
Meat color
L* (lightness)	44.03	45.92	45.15	44.80	0.79	0.10	0.76	0.62
a* (redness)	15.95	15.44	15.88	15.51	0.27	0.20	0.35	0.47
b* (yellowness)	2.98	3.20	3.09	3.09	0.29	0.60	0.98	0.68
pH
pH_45min ^a	5.83	5.95	5.73	6.06	0.11	0.48	0.04	0.84
pH_24h ^b	5.48	5.47	5.46	5.48	0.02	0.60	0.48	0.76
Shear force, kg	1.51	1.52	1.54	1.48	0.08	0.93	0.58	0.25
Drip loss, %	2.03	2.45	2.24	2.24	0.29	0.33	0.99	0.64
Cooking loss, %	27.99	27.57	27.71	27.85	1.13	0.72	0.91	0.18
Marbling score (1–10 scale)	1.30	1.00	1.20	1.10	0.13	0.14	0.83	0.83
Intramuscular fat, %	2.84	2.62	2.37	3.09	0.46	0.65	0.14	0.71

ISSN: 2049-1891