Effects of Chromium Picolinate (CrP) on Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Fattening Pigs Treated With or Without Porcine Somatotropin (pST)

Objectives of this study was to investigate effects of supplemental chromium (Cr) as CrP in growing pigs treated with pST. Seventy two Landrace pigs weighing average 60 kg were alloted to the three treatments during the 52-d experimental period: control (corn-soybean basal diet); pST treatment (4 mg/head/day); pST + CrP treatment (4 mg and 200 ppb/head/day). Upon termination of feeding trial weighing average 105 kg, thirty-six pigs randomly selected from each treatment were slaughtered to compare carcass traits. For the study of lipid metabolism, eighteen pigs were alloted to the same treatments. Adipose tissue samples from eighteen pigs were collected to investigate lipid metabolism. All treated samples with pST and pST + CrP showed improvements in daily weight gain, regardless of sex. Feed/gain ratio significantly improved in pigs treated with pST and pST + CrP. Dressing percentages were higher in pigs treated with pST and pST + Crp. Carcass grades were significantly higher in pigs treated with pST and pST + CrP. Lipolysis of adipose tissue measured in vitro was significantly increased in pigs treated with pST, lipogenesis in vitro showed opposite tendency. Even though the current data does not show synergistic effects on the above parameters when CrP and pST were supplied at the same time, but CrP supplementation tended to improve growth performance and carcass traits of pigs treated with pST.