The advantages of boars in fattening performance and carcass traits when compared with the other sexes are explained by testicular anabolic hormones. The steroid androstenone with a pronounced urine-like odour is the main objection against boar meat. More recently skatole (faecal odour) has been identified as another contributor to off-odour of pork. Androstenone is synthesized in the testes, secreted into the circulation and accumulated in adipose tissue due to its lipophilic property. Its biosynthesis is linked to the synthesis of anabolic testicular hormones. Therefore no practical method is available to maintain the sex-dependent anabolic potential of boars and to suppress androstenone selectively. Skatole is formed from tryptophan by specialized microbes in the colon when energy in the colon is limited. Gonadal hormones, but also growth hormone and IGF-1, favour its formation. Oestrogens, which are synthesized in high amounts in boar testes, decrease voluntary food intake, thus lowering the intestinal passage rate. Additionally oestrogens probably influence directly intestinal contractions via specific gut receptors. It appears, however, that glucocorticoids are more important. They counteract mitogenic hormones, such as IGF-1, ultimately leading to gut mucosal cell degradation. The resulting cell debris probably is the main source of tryptophan for microbial skatole formation. In contrast to androstenone, skatole formation can be easily suppressed by dietary means.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0309-1740(94)90118-X | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Exploring the biological impact of bacteria-derived indole compounds on human cell health: Cytotoxicity and cell proliferation across six cell lines.
Toxicol Rep
June 2025
Department of Environmental Science, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USA.
Over the past two decades, research has increasingly focused on the interactions between diet, gut microbiota, and host organisms. Recent evidence suggests that tryptophan, an essential amino acid, can be metabolized by gut microbiota into indoles, which have significant biological effects. However, most research is limited to indole and its liver metabolite, indoxyl sulfate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEffects of dietary amylose/amylopectin ratio on antioxidant ability and amino metabolism in the liver of weaned piglets undergoing feed transition and challenged with lipopolysaccharide.
Front Nutr
January 2025
Hunan International Joint Laboratory of Animal Intestinal Ecology and Health, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
To find out whether dietary amylose/ amylopectin ratio (DAR) could attenuate injury in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged piglets, sixty male weaned piglets (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire, 21 days old, 6.51 ± 0.64 kg) were allotted to 5 dietary treatments with 12 cages per treatment, and fed ad libitum with diets different in DAR (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFScreening study of hydroxytyrosol metabolites from in vitro fecal fermentation and their interaction with intestinal barrier repair receptor AhR.
J Food Sci
December 2024
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, College of Food Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
Article Synopsis
- Hydroxytyrosol (HT), a polyphenol from olive oil, largely survives digestion and reaches the colon intact, potentially aiding in intestinal barrier repair.
- In the colon, HT is metabolized by bacteria, resulting in aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites that promote the growth of beneficial gut microbiota and impact short-chain fatty acids production.
- Molecular docking simulations indicate that these metabolites may enhance the intestinal barrier function by binding effectively to the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), suggesting a pathway through which HT may exert its beneficial effects.
Molecular Mechanisms of Skatole-Induced Inflammatory Responses in Intestinal Epithelial Caco-2 Cells: Implications for Colorectal Cancer and Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
Cells
October 2024
Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Shimane University, 1060 Nishikawatsu-Cho, Matsue 690-8504, Shimane, Japan.
Inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), in intestinal epithelial cells significantly contribute to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colorectal cancer (CRC). Given our previous findings that TNF-α is upregulated in intestinal epithelial Caco-2 cells induced by skatole, a tryptophan-derived gut microbiota metabolite, the present study aimed to explore the relationship between skatole and IL-6, alongside TNF-α. Skatole elevated the promoter activity of IL-6 as well as TNF-α, and increased IL-6 mRNA expression and protein secretion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDevelopment of KISS1 knockout pigs is characterized by hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, normal growth, and reduced skatole†.
Biol Reprod
November 2024
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agriculture Research Service (ARS), U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, Livestock Bio-systems Research Unit, Clay Center, NE 68933-0165, USA.
Article Synopsis
- - Kisspeptin plays a crucial role in regulating gonadotropin secretion in pigs, and a study was conducted on F1 pigs from a parental line created by CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of the KISS1 gene, which eliminates the need for castration.
- - The research measured body weights, gonadotropin levels, and reproductive development in these pigs, finding that while body weight didn't differ based on genotype, KISS1-/- boars and gilts exhibited significantly reduced gonadotropin concentrations and experienced hypogonadism.
- - The results suggest that only one functional KISS1 allele is necessary for normal gonadal function and hormone secretion, and that the knockout of KISS1 does
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!