Dietary ellagic acid supplementation improves meat quality in growing-finishing pigs

Dietary plant extracts are being increasingly studied as a viable method for improving meat quality. Ellagic acid (EA) is a polyphenolic compound found in various fruits. This study investigated the impact of ellagic acid on meat quality in growing -finishing pigs. In our study, eighteen healthy Duroc x (Landrace x Yorkshire) pigs were randomly divided into three groups and fed a basal diet supplemented with 0, 75, or 150 mg/kg EA for a 12 -week period. The results showed that EA improved meat quality by increasing the pH 24 h, redness, intramuscular fat content, and flavour amino acid content and decreasing drip loss and shear force in longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle. Subsequent investigation aimed to elucidate the mechanism underlying the effect of EA on meat redness. Firstly, EA enhanced the antioxidant capacity in the LT muscle. Additionally, EA increased myoglobin expression and improved the redox state of myoglobin. Finally, EA activated the nuclear factor of activated T cells 1 (NFATc1) and proliferator-activated receptor -gamma coactivator-1alpha (PGC-1 alpha) signalling pathway which involved in myoglobin expression. Together, the study suggests that EA improves meat quality in growing -finishing pigs, and that the improvement in redness may be due to an increase in myoglobin content mediated by the PGC-1 alpha and NFATc1 signalling pathways, and an improvement in antioxidant capacity.