Relationships between endogenous carnitine content and growth as carcass traits in swine

In the present study on 29 growing female Deutsche Landrasse (DL) and Pietrain (Pi) pigs the relationship between endogenous carnitine content in plasma, in the blood lymphocytes and in the sceletal muscles with weight gain and carcass and meat quality is analysed. Significant correlations between carnitine content from rearing pigs to fattening pigs (r(plasma) (rearing pig plasma fattening pig) = 0,48, r(lymphocytes rearing pig - plasma fattening pig) = 0.69) reveal that indivival differences in the endogenous carnitine content sustain over the growth phase. The aforementioned correlation reflects a moderate reproducibility reflecting a heritability in a wider sense. Over all breeds a negative relation between the carnitine content and the weight gain was detected. These correlations within the breeds Pi and DL are different. The correlations between weight gain and carnitine in lymphocytes for fattening pigs within DL (r = -0.53 to -0.68) are significantly different from zero. Furthermore correlations between the carnitine content of lymphocytes or plasma of fattening pigs and in the sceletal muscle from pigs for slaughter and the carcass quality criteria meat percentage (r = 0,51) and back fat thickness (r = 0.64) and the meat quality criteria pH-value 45 min p. m. in M.l.d. (r = 0.62) were found. Therefore, the evident variability of the endogen fatty acid transport system had a small effect on the weight gain and a moderate effect on the carcass and meat quality of pigs.