Effect of different doses of cholecalciferol and calcidiol on meat quality parameters and skeletal muscle transcriptome profiles in swine

Skeletal muscle tissue is one of the potential targets for vitamin D actions. There are indications that vitamin D supplementation to swine has a positive effect on meat quality. However, these issues need further study, especially in terms of response to the use of different forms of vitamin D. We carried out a multi-purpose study to compare the effects of cholecalciferol and calcidiol on meat quality and muscle tissue transcriptome. Meat quality assessment and gene expression analysis were performed on longissimus dorsi samples collected from swine fed grower/finisher diets containing 2000 IU cholecalciferol/1500 IU cholecalciferol per kg (n = 8), 3000 IU cholecalciferol/2500 IU cholecalciferol per kg (n = 10), 2000 IU cholecalciferol +1000 IU calcidiol/1500 IU cholecaliferol +1000 IU calcidiol per kg (n = 8), and 2000 IU calcidiol/1500 IU calcidiol per kg (n = 8). The results suggest that increasing the dose of cholecalciferol and using calcidiol in the diet of finishers may improve meat texture parameters (shear force P = 0,014, toughness P = 0,048, cohesiveness P = 0,017, resilience P = 0,002). Shear force (68.46 N-51.42 N) and toughness (145.85 N-114.52 N) decreased the most under the effect of increasing cholecalciferol dosage. In turn, cohesiveness (0.60 N-0.65 N) and resilience (0.23 N-0.28 N) increased most strongly under the use of cholecalciferol+calcidiol. Moreover, the results indicate no significant effect of increasing cholecalciferol dose and use calcidiol in the swine diet on muscle tissue transcriptome.

Automated summary

This study compared the effects of cholecalciferol and calcidiol on meat quality and muscle tissue transcriptome. The results suggest that increasing the dose of cholecalciferol and using calcidiol in the diet of finishers may improve meat texture parameters, but have no significant effect on muscle tissue transcriptome.