Effects of Dietary Chromium (III) Picolinate on Growth Performance, Respiratory Rate, Plasma Variables, and Carcass Traits of Pigs Fed High-Fat Diets

We investigated the effects of supplemental chromium (Cr) as Cr (III) picolinate on pigs fed high-fat diets (HFD) in a 56-day experiment. Thirty-two crossbred pigs (9.6 kg) were allotted to four treatments with four blocks and two pigs/pen. Treatments included: (1) low-fat diet (fat < 3.5%; LFD) with no Cr, (2) HFD (fat > 30%) with no Cr, (3) HFD with 1,000 ppb Cr, and (4) HFD with 2,000 ppb Cr. Pigs fed HFD gained weight faster, consumed less, and had lower feed:gain (p < 0.05). Pigs fed HFD had higher respiration rates than pigs fed LFD on d 41 (p < 0.05). Plasma insulin on d 14 linearly decreased with Cr (p = 0.05). Plasma cholesterol concentrations were higher in the pigs fed HFD than those fed LFD, but were largely unaffected by supplemental Cr. Consumption of HFD resulted in greater carcass weight, perirenal fat, and backfat measures (p < 0.01) compared with the LFD group. Cr resulted in linear reductions of hot carcass weight (p = 0.08) and average backfat (p < 0.05). The effects of Cr on carcass fat measures were more pronounced in castrated males than in females. These results indicate that Cr attenuates some effects of a HFD, mainly body fat accretion of pigs, and especially in castrated pigs.