THE INFLUENCE OF FISH-MINERAL CONCENTRATE ON THE LEVEL OF SELECTED PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS IN BLOOD OF FINISHING PIGS

Zbigniew Dobrzański¹, Zygmunt Usydus², Adolf Korniewicz³, Roman Kołacz⁴, Krystyna Pogoda-Sewerniak^4
1 Department of Environment Hygiene and Animal Welfare, The Faculty of Biology and Animal Science, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
² Sea Fisheries Institute in Gdynia, Poland
³ Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
⁴ Department of Environmental Hygiene and Animal Welfare, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland

ABSTRACT

The goal of the study was to determine the influence of fish-mineral concentrate (KR-M) addition in the amount of 4 and 8% to fodder during the period of pig fattening on the changes of basic blood parameters. Mean values of hematological parameters such as Ht, Hb and most of the biochemical ones such as: glucose, urea, total cholesterol, lipoprotein fraction cholesterol HDL and LDL, liver enzymes: ALT, AST did not differ significantly within the groups. However, in the group that received 8% KR-M, a significant increase of total protein concentration occurred, while total bilirubin and triglycerides decreased. Ca, Mg, P and Fe concentration as well as total iron bonding capability (TIBC) and latent iron bonding capability (UBIC) were statistically significantly higher in experimental groups in comparison with the control group, which proves better bioassimilation of macroelements and iron. A statistically significant decrease of Cu and Zn concentration was found in experimental groups in comparison with the control group, which might result from sorptive properties of aluminosilicates in KR-M. It suggests the necessity of enriching the mixture with Cu and Zn salts.

Key words: fish oil, finishing pigs, blood, physiological parameters.

INTRODUCTION

Fodder materials obtained from fish and fish waste, play a more and more important role in animal feeding. They contain protein rich in necessary amino acids, constitute a valuable source of energy and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) as well as some vitamins and microelements [4, 9, 19]. At the same time, they do not contain fiber or hydrocarbons.

The greatest role is played by meals obtained from whole fish, and fish oils which constitute a good component of various fodder mixtures used in the feeding of almost all species of farm animals. There is numerous data on the influence of fish fodder on the quality of raw materials and products of animal origin. They enrich finishing pigs´ meat [12, 13], broiler meat [5, 6], cow milk [2] and hen eggs [18] with fatty acids of n-3 L-PUFA family as well as with lipophilic vitamins.

There is less information on the influence of this fodder on physiological parameters, and particularly hematological and biochemical or immunological parameters in farm animals.

A fish-mineral concentrate, developed according to the original formula at Sea Fisheries Institute in Gdynia [19], may be one of the solutions for the farming practice.

The goal of the study was to determine the influence of fish-mineral concentrate addition, used in fodder mixtures for finishing pigs on the picture of the basic hematological and biochemical parameters of their blood.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The experimental material consisted of 30 finishing pigs (line 990) coming from a pig house of the Experimental Institute of Zootechnology in Pawłowice with the initial body mass of 28 kg, and the age of 10 weeks. All animals were kept in individual pens with concrete grill, equipped with auto-feeders (ad libitum feeding) and nipple drinkers.

The animals were randomly assigned to 3 feeding groups of 10 animals each (5 sows and 5 hogs):

Group I - control one, fed with complete feed mixture
Group II - fed like group I with 4% of KR-M
Group III - fed like group I with 8 % of KR-M

KR-M consists of fish oil with plant oil admixture, put on mineral vehicles (humin and aluminosilicate raw materials). It includes 89.03% of dry mass, 40.86% of raw ash, 1.29% of raw protein, 4.38% of raw fiber, 31.55% of raw fat, 9.55% of BAW (N-free extract), 15.89 g Ca/kg, 4.23 g Mg/kg, 1.32 g P/kg, 9.62 mg Cu/kg, 52 mg Zn/kg as well as numerous other microelements. The uptake and use of the mixture, mean body mass increases, intravital and post-slaughter assessment results as well as qualitative properties of longissimus muscle of back have been presented in a separate publication [19].

During the final stage of fattening, when the animals reached 100 kg of weight, blood was taken from 8 finishing pigs of each group. Hematocrit and hemoglobin values were determined in whole blood by means of a veterinary hematological analyzer manufactured by Melet Schloesing Laboratories. The following was assayed in the blood plasma: AST, ALAT - with the kinetic method, total protein - with the biuret method, glucose - with the oxidase method, triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL and LDL - with the enzymatic method, total bilirubin and urea - with the colorimetric method and by means of BioSystems reagent sets. Also Ca, P and Mg were determined in the plasma - with the colorimetric method, iron and TIBC - with the enzymatic method by means of BioSystems reagent sets, and Zn and Cu - with the colorimetric method by means of Randox reagent sets. All the biochemical assays were conducted with the use of SEMCO S/E spectrophotometer. Additionally, UBIC and the degree of blood saturation with iron were calculated.

The collected data were processed statistically with the calculation of mean values (x), standard deviation (SD) as well as the significance of differences by means of t-Student test with the application of Statgraphics v. 5.0 computer software.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The test results of hematological and biochemical parameters in finishing pigs have been shown in table 1. The values of the parameters oscillated within relatively wide ranges of physiological values for pigs, presented by numerous authors [1, 15, 17, 21]. The mean values of hematological parameters such as: Ht and Hb, biochemical parameters such as: glucose, urea, total cholesterol and cholesterol of HDL and LDL fractions, activity of liver enzymes of AST and ALAT did not differ significantly within the groups. However, group III, which received 8% KR-M, demonstrated statistically significant increase of total protein concentration and decrease of total bilirubin and triglycerides in comparison with the control group [I]. In spite of its increased level, the total protein concentration remained within the physiological standard [21]. The decrease of bilirubin concentration may indicate more affective liver functioning resulting in the increased capture of bilirubin from the blood stream [1]. As for triglyceride decrease, it results most likely from polyunsaturated acids (L-PUFA) included in fish oil (KR-M component). Similar effects in piglets were obtained by Wall et al. [20], and in broiler chickens by Dobrzański et al. [6]. Kołacz et al. [11], on the other hand, when administering 2% of halloysite with complete feed to finishing pigs did not find the influence of this aluminosilicate on the examined hematological and biochemical parameters, but only a significant increase of total protein concentration, and a decrease of triglycerides and HDL fraction in comparison with the control group. Also other authors [3], when administering fat concentrate (including linseed oil calcium salts and utilization oil) to finishing pigs did not find significant changes in the values of lipid parameters in the blood of these animals.

Table 1. Mean value [x] and standard deviation [SD] of selected biochemical parameters of pig blood

Parameter		Group
		I	II	III
Ht (T/l)	X SD	35.88 ± 4.97	36.75 ± 1.67	37.75 ± 1.83
Hb (mmol/l)	X SD	7.48 ± 1.68	7.27 ± 0.54	7.23 ± 0.54
Total protein (gl/l)	X SD	65.29a ± 1.47	65.65 ± 3.00	68.79b ± 4.19
Urea (mmol/l)	X SD	5.48 ± 1.04	6.00 ± 1.40	5.10 ± 1.30
Glucose (mmol/l)	X SD	4.12 ± 0.39	4.33 ± 0.60	3.83 ± 0.63
AST (U/l)	X SD	60.25 ± 16.86	55.25 ± 41.24	51.38 ± 15.35
ALAT (U/l)	X SD	45.57 ± 7.44	48.50 ± 9.34	51.25 ± 11.18
Total bilirubin (µmol/l)	X SD	3.17a ± 1.68	2.50 ± 1.20	1.66b ± 0.71
Total cholesterol (mmol/l)	X SD	2.85 ± 0.54	2.67 ± 0.55	2.62 ± 0.47
HDL (mmol/l)	X SD	0.73 ± 0.07	0.73 ± 0.17	0.81 ± 0.21
LDL (mmol/l)	X SD	1.32 ± 0.18	1.31 ± 0.27	1.40 ± 0.24
Triglyceride (mmol/l)	X SD	0.34a ± 0.17	0.21 ± 0.08	0.20b ± 0.05

ab - significant differences between groups at p£0.05

The results of element concentration determination in blood plasma are interesting (table 2). The concentration of basic elements, such as Ca, Mg and P was statistically significantly higher in experimental groups when compared to the control group. This may suggest a better dynamics of mineral compound metabolism in the animals, but might also result from the presence of these three elements in KR-M, probably bound with fats or mineral complexes. Papaioannou et al. [16], however, did not find changes in Ca, P and Mg concentration in blood plasma of sows administered various mineral and organic additions. This might result from the physiological homeostasis of macroelements in the organism, which should not be subject to greater concentration fluctuations in healthy individuals.

Table 2. Mean value [x] and standard deviation [SD] of mineral parameters in pig blood

Parameter		Group
		I	II	III
Calcium (mmol/l)	X SD	2.10A 0.19	2.47B 0.13	2.41B 0.15
Magnesium (mmol/l)	X SD	1.15A 0.10	1.1a 0.07	1.19b.B 0.07
Phosphorus (mmol/l)	X SD	2.84a 0.24	3.00 0.28	3.15b 0.28
Zinc (µmol/l)	X SD	19.08a 3.16	17.12 1.69	15.96b 3.17
Copper (µmol/l)	X SD	31.81a 4.88	26.9 4.35	25.50b 5.92
Iron (µmol/l)	X SD	19.46a 4.83	23.64 11.83	23.53b 6.39
TIBC (µmol/l)	X SD	76.10a 10.69	87.14b 6.98	89.84b 7.73
UBIC (µmol/l)	X SD	57.76a 9.32	63.30 16.64	65.98b 4.60
Saturation of iron %	X SD	24.42 4.79	27.89 16.66	26.30 5.50

AB - significant differences between groups at p£ 0.01 ab - significant differences between groups at p£0.05

A statistically significant concentration decrease of Cu and Zn was found in group III in comparison with the control group. This phenomenon can be explained by sorptive and ion exchange properties of aluminosilicates (bentonite, vermiculite) included in KR-M. The phenomenon of inter-elemental interactions cannot be excluded, either, since many elements demonstrate antagonism in relation to Cu and Zn [7, 8]. For example, the absorption of copper limits Mo and S, while the absorption of zinc - such elements as Ca, Fe and phytic acid. It is worth mentioning that the concentrate used includes a high content of aluminum, although it is bound with silica, which makes it poorly soluble and practically non-assimilable.

The determination results of iron metabolism parameters are also interesting. A statistically significant concentration increase of this microelement occurred in experimental groups in comparison with group I. It is clearly visible while analyzing the remaining parameters, such as TIBC and UBIC (statistically significant differences), which unequivocally indicate better utilization of iron by the finishing pigs receiving the fish-mineral concentrate. As results from Usydus´s studies [19], it includes a lot of Fe, on average as much as 8.72 g/kg. It comes mainly from humin additions (peat, humodetrinite) which are rich in iron salts but do not always significantly influence the iron metabolism parameters in finishing pigs [14]. This, however, indicates the possibility of using this addition in the feeding of piglets with physiological iron deficiencies [10].

Thus, the application of the fish-mineral concentrate as a component of complete feeds did not cause any changes of the analyzed biochemical parameters, which might indicate its negative influence on the organism, but on the contrary, it contributed to the improvement of some parameters in blood plasma. Moreover, it was demonstrated that this concentrate (RK-M), administered in a complete feed mixture to finishing pigs in the amount of 4%, resulted in the improvement of fattening effects and carcass musculature parameters without deteriorating physical-chemical and sensory properties of meat [19].

Summarizing, it must be ascertained that finishing pigs fed with complete feed mixture including RK-M had a more advantageous configuration of values of many hematological and biochemical blood parameters in comparison with the control group. Supplementing the mixture with zinc and copper, depending on the dose of the concentrate used, is recommended.

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16. Papaioannou DS, Kyriakis SC, Papasteriadis A, Roumbies N, Yannakopoulos A, Alexopoulos C. 2002. Effect of in -feed inclusion of a natural zeolite (clinoptilolite) on certain vitamin, macro and trace element concentration in the blood, liver and kidney tissues of sows. Res. Vet. Sci. 72: 61-68.

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18. Ryś R., Koreleski J., Kuchta M., Sieradzka A., Zegarek Z. 1998. Wpływ tłuszczu z organizmów morskich w mieszance paszowej dla kur na zawartość wielonienasyconych kwasów tłuszczowych w żółtku jaja oraz poziom cholesterolu w surowicy krwi. [Influence of marine organisms fat in fodder mixture for hens on the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids in egg yolk and cholesterol level in blood plasma.] Rocz. Nauk. Zoot. 25(1), 75-81.

19. Usydus Z. Badania nad otrzymywaniem i jakością paszowego oleju rybnego oraz jego wykorzystaniem w formie koncentratu rybno-mineralnego w żywieniu zwierząt monogastrycznych. [Investigation on obtaining and quality of fodder fish oil and its utilization in the form of fish-mineral concentrate in monogastric animal feeding.] Praca habil. AR Wroc., 2005.

20. Wall K.M., Diersen-Schade D., Innis S.M. 1994. Plasma and tissue lipids of piglets fed formula containing saturated fatty acids from medium-chain triglycerides with or without fish oil. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 59(6), 1317-1324.

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Study conducted within the realization scope of project PBZ-KBN No 060/T09/2001

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Zbigniew Dobrzański
Department of Environment Hygiene and Animal Welfare, The Faculty of Biology and Animal Science, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
J. Chełmońskiego 38 C
51-630 Wrocław
Poland
Phone: +48 71 320 5865
email: zbigniew.dobrzanski@up.wroc.pl

Zygmunt Usydus
Sea Fisheries Institute in Gdynia, Poland
Kołłataja 1, 81-332 Gdynia, Poland
Phone: (+4858) 620-17-28
email: zygmunt@mir.gdynia.pl

Adolf Korniewicz
Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science,
Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
Chełmonskiego 38 C, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland
email: Phone: (+4871) 320-58-39

Roman Kołacz
Department of Environmental Hygiene and Animal Welfare,
Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
Chełmońskiego 38 C, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland
Phone: (+48 71) 32 05 865

Krystyna Pogoda-Sewerniak
Department of Environmental Hygiene and Animal Welfare,
Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
Chełmonskiego 38 C, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland
Phone: (+48 71) 348 41 42

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