1.
Braz. arch. biol. technol
; 55(3): 445-456, May-June 2012. ilus
Artículo
en Inglés
| LILACS
| ID: lil-640196
RESUMEN
The β-adrenergic agonist ractopamine is increasingly used in the swine industry due to higher consumer demand for leaner pork products. Redirecting nutrients to favor leanness rather than fat deposition, ractopamine improves growth and carcass traits of finishing pigs. However, the impact of this agonist on pork quality is not clearly defined. Understanding the biological effects of dietary ractopamine dose, treatment period, lysine levels, and the lysine to metabolizable energy ratio will help pork producers achieve improvements in animal performance, carcass leanness, and economic efficiency in swine production systems.