Animal Feed Science and Technology 253 (2019) 93–100

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Animal Feed Science and Technology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/anifeedsci

Effects of dietary L-arginine on growth performance, nutrient

T
digestibility, gas emission, and meat quality in finishing pigs
⁎
Huan Shi, Jong Keun Kim, In Ho Kim
Department of Animal Resource & Science, Dankook University, Cheonan, Choongnam, 31116, South Korea

A R T IC LE I N F O ABS TRA CT

Keywords: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary L-arginine supplementation on growth
Arginine performance, nutrient digestibility, gas emission and meat quality. A total of 120 crossbred
Finishing pig [(Landrace × Yorkshire) × Duroc] pigs with an average initial body weight (BW) of
Growth performance 53.80 ± 1.86 kg were used in this 10-week feeding trial. The pigs were randomly allotted to 1 of
Meat quality
3 dietary treatments (5 pigs/pen and 8 replicates/treatment) in a randomized complete block
design according to their sex (2 gilts and 3 barrows) and BW. Dietary treatments included: 1)
CON (basal diet); 2) LA0.5 (CON + 0.5 g/kg L-arginine); 3) LA1.0 (CON + 1.0 g/kg L-arginine).
The result showed that L-arginine did not affect pig growth performance, nutrient digestibility, or
gas emission. However, dietary L-arginine supplementation linearly increased (P < 0.05) muscle
marbling score, while linearly decreasing (P < 0.05) cooking loss and drip loss of pork muscle.
Collectively, results of current study indicate that supplementation with 1.0 g/kg L-arginine
improved meat quality without any significant effect on growth performance in finishing pigs.

1. Introduction

Recently, consumers worldwide have been showing great interests in improving pork meat quality. The high quality meat,
determined by its color, tenderness, juiciness, flavor, and intramuscular fat (IMF), is well correlated with pork consumptions (Joo
et al., 2013; Madeira et al., 2014). Intramuscular fat or marbling, an important trait for meat quality, is relevance to the tenderness,
juiciness and flavor of pork (Wood et al., 2008). The pigs at marketing age exhibit excessive amounts of subcutaneous fat. The
subcutaneous adipose tissue presents approximately 70% of the carcass lipid (Etherton and Walton, 1986; Mersmann and Smith,
2005). It is desirable to increase IMF content without increasing subcutaneous white fat in pork to satisfy consumer preferences.
However, IMF content is difficult to increase through traditional breeding methods (Suzuki et al., 2005; Hernández-Sánchez et al.,
2013). Moreover, reductions in subcutaneous white fat have resulted in a decreased IMF content (Jacyno et al., 2015). Therefore,
nutritional strategies should be developed to improve appropriate IMF content in pork.
Arginine, a semi-essential amino acid, is the physiological precursor for nitric oxide (NO) synthesis, which stimulates the glucose
oxidation in a cell-specific manner and regulates lipid metabolism in a tissue-specific manner (Jobgen et al., 2006; Wu et al., 2014;
Kong et al., 2015). Available evidence showed that dietary supplementation with 10 g/kg L-arginine improves meat quality,

Abbreviations: ADF, acid detergent fiber; ADFI, average daily feed intake; ADG, average daily gain; aNDF, neutral detergent fiber assayed with a
heat stableα-amylase with residual ash; ATTD, apparent total tract digestibility; BW, body weight; DM, dry matter; F:G, feed:gain ratio; H2S,
hydrogen sulfide; IMF, intramuscular fat; LM, longissimus muscle; LMA, longissimus muscle area; NH3, ammonia; SEM, standard error of mean; WHC,
water holding capacity
⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: inhokim@dankook.ac.kr (I.H. Kim).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2019.05.007
Received 16 October 2018; Received in revised form 7 May 2019; Accepted 11 May 2019
0377-8401/ © 2019 Published by Elsevier B.V.
H. Shi, et al. Animal Feed Science and Technology 253 (2019) 93–100

beneficially increases IMF deposition and decreases backfat thickness without affecting growth performance in finishing pigs (Ma
et al., 2015; Tous et al., 2016; Hu et al., 2017a). L-arginine has been demonstrated to reduce excessive amounts of subcutaneous white
fat mass while increasing skeletal-muscle content. Growing evidence shows that dietary supplementation with 10 g/kg L-arginine for
finishing pigs could reduce fat accretion, promote protein deposition, increase PPARγ expression in preadipocytes, and enhance
lipogenesis in intramuscular adipose tissue, and, therefore, result in an increase in IMF or marbling (Tan et al., 2011; Ma et al., 2015;
Tous et al., 2016; Hu et al., 2017a, b). However, Ma et al. (2010) indicates that the group of pigs supplemented with 5 g/kg arginine
showed higher IMF than 10 g/kg arginine group. There is inconsistency in findings related to appropriate concentration of dietary
supplementation of L-arginine for its beneficial effects among different studies. We were interested to do a preliminary assessment
with 0, 0.5, and 1.0 g/kg of dietary L-arginine on production and performance in finishing pigs. Thus, the objective of this study was
to investigate the effects of different concentrations of L-arginine supplementation on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, fecal
noxious gas emission and meat quality in finishing pigs.

2. Materials and methods

The experimental protocols describing the management and care of animals were reviewed and approved by the Animal Care and
Use Committee of Dankook University. The L-arginine (purity of 99%) used in the current experiment was obtained from a com-
mercial company (CJ Biotech Co., Ltd, Shenyang, China).

2.1. Animal and housing

In this 10-week feeding trial, 120 crossbred [(Landrace × Yorkshire) × Duroc] pigs with an average initial body weight (BW) of
53.80 ± 1.86 kg (approximately 16 weeks old) were used. Pigs were allotted into 3 dietary treatments (5 pigs/pen and 8 replicates/
treatment) in a randomized complete block design according to their sex (2 gilts and 3 barrows). The diets used in this experiment
were formulated to meet or exceed National Research Council (NRC, 2012) recommendations of finishing pig for all nutrients
(Table 1). Dietary treatments consisted of basal diets supplemented with 0, 0.5, and 1.0 g/kg L-arginine. All pigs were housed in an
environmentally controllable room with slatted plastic flooring and a mechanical ventilation system. Each pen (1.8 × 1.8 m) was
equipped with a self-feeder and nipple drinker to allow ad libitum access to feed and water throughout the experimental period.

2.2. Sampling and measurements

Individual body weight was measured at the beginning, middle (5 weeks) and the end (10 weeks) of the experimental period. Feed
consumption was recorded on a pen basis during the experiment to calculate average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake
(ADFI), and feed:gain ratio (F:G).
Chromium oxide (Cr2O3, 2 g/kg), an indigestible marker was added to the diet 5 days prior to fecal collection to calculate the
nutrient digestibility at the end of 5th week, and 10th week. Feed samples were collected and retained weekly, and were mixed
together at the 5th and 10th week, respectively, to obtain a representative composite sample. Fecal samples were randomly collected
from at least two pigs via the rectal massage from each pen (1 gilt and 1 barrow; 16 pigs per treatment) and were pooled by pen. On
the basis of treatment, all the feed and fecal samples were dried (70 ℃ for 72 h) and finely ground to be able to pass through a 1 mm
screen. Diets samples were analyzed for dry matter (method 930.15), crude protein (N × 6.25; method 988.05), ash (method
942.05), acid detergent fiber (ADF, method 973.18), and amino acids (method 982.30E) following the procedures established by the
Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC, 2006). And neutral detergent fiber assayed with heat stable amylase (aNDF) was
determined using the method of Van Soest et al. (1991). Fecal samples were analyzed for dry matter (method 930.15), nitrogen
(method 988.05) following the procedures established by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC, 2006). The gross
energy was determined by measuring the heat of combustion by Parr 6100 oxygen bomb calorimeter (Parr Instrument Co., Moline, IL,
USA). Chromium levels were determined via UV absorption spectrophotometry (UV-1201, Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan) and the apparent
total tract digestibility (ATTD) of dry matter, nitrogen and energy were calculated using indirect methods described by Williams et al.
(1962).
At the end of 5th and 10th week, noxious gas (ammonia; total mercaptan; hydrogen sulfide) emissions were determined according
to the method described by Cho et al. (2008). In brief, a total of 300 g fresh excreta were collected from at least two pigs via the rectal
massage in each pen, and then transferred to a sealed plastic box (polyvinyl, W25 × L35 cm). These sample boxes were permitted to
ferment at 28℃ for 24 h. Gas was detected after 1, 3, 5 and 7 day fermentation period, using Gastec gas sampling pumps (Gastec, GV-
100S, Japan) during 1 min. The plastic boxes were punctured and headspace air was sampled approximately 2.0 cm above the slurry
surface at a rate of 100 mL/min. The levels of ammonia (NH3), total mercaptan, and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) were measured by Gastec
Detector Tube (Gastec Corp., Japan).
At the end of the experiment, all pigs were transferred to a local commercial slaughterhouse and slaughtered with conventional
procedures. The carcasses were chilled at 2 °C for 24 h, then, a piece (2.54 cm thick) of longissimus muscle (LM) sample was taken via
perpendicular cut at the 10th rib. Meat samples were randomly taken from each pen (2 pigs per pen, 1 gilt and 1 barrow; 16 pigs per
treatment). Sensory evaluation (color, marbling and firmness scores) was evaluated by six trained panelists. Subjective muscle color
and subjective firmness were evaluated using a six-point scale (1 = pale pinkish gray to white, soft to 6 = dark, purplish red, very
firm; NPPC, 2000), and subjective marbling was evaluated using a five-point scale (1 = devoid of marbling to 5 = moderately
abundant marbling or greater; NPPC, 1991). Immediately after the subjective tests were determined, meat color of LM as lightness

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Table 1
Composition of finishing pig diets (g/kg, as fed-basis).1
Item L-arginine, g/kg

0 0.5 1.0

Ingredients, g/kg
Corn 625.1 624.6 623.0
Wheat 98.5 98.7 98.7
Soybean meal, 480 g/kg 179.0 178.8 179.2
Tallow 29.1 29.1 29.8
Molasses 40.0 40.0 40.0
Dicalcium phosphate, 180 g/kg P 12.5 12.5 12.5
Limestone 5.5 5.5 5.5
Salt 3.0 3.0 3.0
Methionine, 990 g/kg 0.6 0.6 0.6
Lysine, 780 g/kg 3.2 3.2 3.2
L-arginine, 990 g/kg 0.5 1.0
Vitamin premix2 2.0 2.0 2.0
Mineral premix3 1.0 1.0 1.0
Choline, 250 g/kg 0.5 0.5 0.5
Total 1000 1000 1000
Calculated value4, g/kg
Crude protein 150.0 150.0 150.0
Metabolizable energy, MJ/kg 13.8 13.8 13.8
Lysine 9.5 9.5 9.5
Methionine 3.0 3.0 3.0
Arginine 9.0 9.5 10.0
Calcium 6.0 6.0 6.0
Total phosphorus 5.5 5.5 5.5
Analyzed value, g/kg
Dry matter 876 875 874
Crude protein 153 153 152
Ash 44 43 43
aNDF 73 73 72
ADF 28 28 28
Lysine 10.0 10.1 9.9
Methionine 3.3 3.2 3.3
Threonine 5.7 5.6 5.7
Tryptophan 1.6 1.6 1.6
Arginine 9.4 9.9 10.4

1
Abbreviation: ADF, acid detergent fiber; aNDF, neutral detergent fiber assayed with a heat stableα-amylase with residual
ash.
2
Provided per kilogram of complete diet: 4800 IU vitamin A; 960 IU vitamin D3; 20 IU vitamin E; 2.4 mg vitamin K3; 4.6 mg
riboflavin; 1.2 mg vitamin B6; 13 mg pantothenic acid; 23.5 mg niacin; 0.02 mg biotin.
3
Provided per kilogram of complete diet: 12.5 mg Mn (as MnO2); 179 mg Zn (as ZnSO4); 5 mg Cu (as CuSO4∙5H2O); 0.5 mg I
(as KI); and 0.4 mg Se (as Na2SeO3∙5H2O); 75 mg Fe (as FeSO4∙7H2O).
4
The calculated values were calculated according to NRC (2012).

(L*), redness (a*), and yellowness (b*) were measured in triplicate on a fresh-cut surface with a Chromameter (Model CR-410; Konica
Minolta Sensing, Inc., Osaka, Japan). At the same time, duplicate pH value of each sample was measured via an insertion glass
electrode pH-meter (WTW pH 340-A, WTH Measurement Systems Inc., Ft. Myers, FL, USA). For the determination of water holding
capacity (WHC), a 0.3-g sample was pressed at 3000 psi for 3 min on a 125-mm-diameter filter paper. The area of the pressed sample
and the expressed moisture were delineated and determined with a digitizing area-line sensor (MT-10S, M.T. Precision Co. Ltd.,
Tokyo, Japan). The ratio of water area: meat area was calculated to give a measure of WHC, with smaller ratio indicating higher
WHC. The longissimus muscle area (LMA) was measured by tracing the LM surface at the 10th rib, which was measured using the
above-mentioned digitizing area-line sensor. Cooking loss was determined according to the method described by Sullivan et al.
(2007). Drip loss was measured using approximately 4 g of meat sample according to the plastic bag method described by Honikel
(1998).

2.3. Statistical analysis

All data were statistically analyzed using the GLM procedure of the SAS program (SAS, 2014). Data on growth performance,
nutrient digestibility, and noxious gas emission were based on a pen basis, whereas data on meat quality was based on individual
pigs. Orthogonal comparisons were conducted using polynomial regression to determine linear and quadratic effects of increasing L-
arginine levels on all measurements. Data variability was expressed as the standard error of mean (SEM) and the level of significance
was set at P < 0.05.

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Table 2
Effect of dietary L-arginine supplementation on growth performance in finishing pigs1.
Items L-arginine, g/kg SEM2 P-value

0 0.5 1.0 Linear Qudratic

Body weight, kg
Initial 53.80 53.79 53.80 0.707 1.000 0.989
week 5 80.70 80.90 81.39 0.699 0.494 0.880
week 10 110.69 111.20 112.14 0.957 0.296 0.858
week 5
ADG, g 769 775 788 11.63 0.264 0.785
ADFI, g 2212 2225 2243 37.29 0.565 0.971
F:G 2.876 2.872 2.848 0.023 0.407 0.720
week 10
ADG, g 857 866 879 14.74 0.306 0.937
ADFI, g 2752 2759 2805 45.27 0.415 0.737
F:G 3.213 3.188 3.193 0.027 0.596 0.642
Overall
ADG, g 813 820 833 12.93 0.272 0.867
ADFI, g 2481 2492 2524 37.65 0.436 0.826
F:G 3.054 3.039 3.030 0.015 0.271 0.871

Values represent the means of eight pens with 5 pigs per replicate pen (n = 40) per treatment for body weight, and eight pens (n = 8) per treatment
for ADG, ADFI, and F:G ratio.
1
Abbreviations: ADG, average daily gain; ADFI, average daily feed intake; F:G, feed to gain ratio.
2
Standard error of means.

3. Results

3.1. Growth performance

The effects of L-arginine supplementation in the diets on growth performance are presented in Table 2. Arginine supplementation
in increasing concentrations had no effect (P > 0.05) on all growth parameters measured (BW, ADG, ADFI, and F:G ratio).

3.2. Nutrient digestibility

As shown in Table 3, supplementation with increasing levels of L-arginine did not affect (P > 0.05) the ATTD of dry matter,
nitrogen and energy among dietary treatments in finishing pigs.

3.3. Noxious gas emission

The Noxious gas (NH3, total mercaptan, and H2S) emission was not influenced (P > 0.05) by the increasing levels of L-arginine
(Table 4).

3.4. Meat quality

Meat color score, meat sensory score, pH, LMA, and WHC did not differ (P > 0.05) between control and arginine-supplemented

Table 3
Effect of dietary L-arginine supplementation on nutrient digestibility in finishing pigs1.
Items L-arginine, g/kg SEM1 P-value

0 0.5 1.0 Linear Qudratic

week 5
Dry matter 0.751 0.758 0.765 0.9388 0.321 0.995
Nitrogen 0.748 0.750 0.757 1.0648 0.553 0.873
Energy 0.749 0.760 0.767 0.9523 0.193 0.901
week 10
Dry matter 0.711 0.712 0.724 0.8005 0.272 0.619
Nitrogen 0.707 0.714 0.720 0.8989 0.328 0.940
Energy 0.711 0.718 0.726 0.5762 0.093 0.987

Values represent the means of eight pens (n = 8) per treatment.

1
Standard error of means.

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Table 4
Effect of dietary L-arginine supplementation on fecal gas-emission in finishing pigs1.
Items, mg/kg L-arginine, g/kg SEM1 P-value

0 0.5 1.0 Linear Qudratic

week 5
NH3 4.67 4.43 4.28 0.488 0.576 0.935
Total mercaptan 2.58 2.45 2.33 0.292 0.560 1.000
H2S 3.40 3.20 2.93 0.281 0.263 0.916
week 10
NH3 5.90 5.43 4.88 0.608 0.264 0.961
Total mercaptan 3.87 3.56 3.33 0.327 0.264 0.952
H2S 4.30 3.68 3.45 0.451 0.215 0.726

Values represent the means of eight replicate pens (n = 8) per treatment.

1
Standard error of means.

pigs (Table 5). Interestingly, dietary supplementation with increasing levels of L-arginine linearly increased (P < 0.05) muscle
marbling score, while decreasing (Linear, P < 0.05) cooking loss, and drip loss in pork muscle.

4. Discussion

The current study was performed to evaluate different levels of dietary L-arginine (0.5 or 1.0 g/kg during finishing period)
supplementation in finishing pigs. The major finding from present study are that dietary L-arginine supplementation increased
marbling score, while decreasing cooking loss and drip loss in the carcass without affecting growth performance and other carcass
traits in finishing pigs. To our knowledge, this study was the first to demonstrate that dietary supplementation with 1.0 g/kg L-
arginine can beneficially increase marbling score and reduce cooking loss and drip loss in finishing pigs.

4.1. Growth performance and nutrient digestibility

The non-significant effect of L-arginine on the production parameters (ADG, ADFI, and F:G ratio) of finishing pigs obtained in this
study is in agreement with previous literature (Go et al., 2010; Tous et al., 2016; Hu et al., 2017a). In contrast, Tan et al. (2009)
demonstrated increased ADG without any effect on ADFI and F:G ratio after feeding finishing pigs on a diet supplemented with 10 g/
kg of L-arginine. This discrepancy between the present study and the work of Tan et al. (2009) may be explained by the differences in
experiment length, initial body weight of the pigs used, or the dietary lysine:arginine ratio. It is known that a metabolic antagonism
existed between lysine and arginine (Jones et al., 1967). The lysine-arginine antagonism was generally recognized as an important
amino acid interaction for dietary formulation. Lysine competes with arginine absorption from intestinal lumen and reabsorption
from kidney tubules, inhibits arginase activity, and affects synthesis of arginine and its metabolites (Jones et al., 1967; Robbins and

Table 5
Effect of dietary L-arginine supplementation on meat quality in finishing pigs1.
Items L-arginine, g/kg SEM1 P-value

0 0.5 1.0 Linear Qudratic

Meat color
L* 49.21 50.94 49.53 1.388 0.875 0.380
a* 14.27 14.76 14.72 0.411 0.459 0.612
b* 3.86 3.87 3.88 0.105 0.922 0.985
Sensory evaluation
Color 3.00 2.91 3.03 0.082 0.786 0.297
Marbling 2.41 2.63 2.72 0.076 0.018 0.529
Firmness 2.69 2.69 2.66 0.100 0.837 0.905
Cooking loss, g/100 g 35.27 33.71 31.67 0.870 0.017 0.827
Drip loss, g/100 g
day 1 7.62 7.24 6.73 0.621 0.339 0.938
day 3 12.42 12.29 11.67 0.639 0.431 0.757
day 5 18.51 17.92 17.13 0.684 0.188 0.905
day 7 23.91 23.71 22.48 0.342 0.016 0.252
pH 5.51 5.57 5.50 0.044 0.906 0.263
Longissimus muscle area, cm2 60.51 60.33 58.09 2.177 0.451 0.707
Water holding capacity, g/100 g 43.21 43.60 44.57 1.285 0.470 0.858

Values represent the means of eight pens with 2 pigs per replicate pen (n = 16) per treatment.
1
Standard error of means.

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Baker (1981); Popolo et al., 2014; Tsikas et al., 2015). However, some studies suggest that excess lysine or excess arginine attributed
the adverse effects (growth depression, feed intake reduction) through an imbalancing way rather than through a genuine antag-
onism in swine (Anderson et al., 1984; Edmonds and Baker, 1987). Previous studies that investigated the effect of dietary supple-
mentation with 10 g/kg L-arginine on growth performance of finishing pigs had various lysine:arginine ratios. Moreover, the absence
of significant effects on growth performance in finishing pigs fed increasing levels of dietary arginine, reported in the present study
and previous studies, could be attributed to the dosage of arginine supplementation and the similar lysine:arginine ratios among
treatments (Madeira et al., 2013). To the best of our knowledge, the optimal lysine-arginine ratio in adult pigs has not been reported
so far. Thus, the mechanisms of the effect of lysine-arginine ratio of the diets and optimal ratios for adult pigs await further clar-
ification.
Arginine plays an important role in regulating the nutrient metabolism in animals, and can therefore improve feed utilization for
protein accretion (Jobgen et al., 2006; Tan et al., 2009). Most studies have demonstrated beneficial effects of arginine or its me-
tabolites on improving gastrointestinal function, promoting intestinal mucosal regeneration, or altering intestinal microorganisms for
improved feed efficiency (He et al., 2009; Wang et al., 2009). Zhan et al. (2008) also reported that dietary L-arginine supplementation
improved gut growth and development, which resulted in improved nutrient digestion. However, L-arginine supplementation had no
effects on the ATTD of dry matter, nitrogen, and energy among treatments in the current study. This discrepancy between the present
study and the work of previous studies might be a result of age differences. Ruth and Field (2013) reported that dietary L-arginine
concentration and availability is closely related to the crucial period in the development of animals (such as post-weaned or growing
phase), which differs in structure and function of the intestine in comparison to mature animals. Further investigation to clarify the
nutrient digestibility of L-arginine supplemented pigs is needed.

4.2. Noxious gas emission

Fecal noxious gas emission such as NH3, total mercaptan, and H2S has become the major air pollution profile in modern swine
industry. Ferket et al. (2002) reported that the noxious gas emission from excreta of non-ruminants is ultimately related to nutrient
digestibility and enteric microflora ecosystem. The efficiency of dietary nitrogen utilization is dependent on the degree of protein
digestibility, amino acid absorption or availability, and the balance of dietary amino acids. Neither nitrogen digestibility nor fecal
noxious gas emission (NH3, total mercaptan, and H2S) were affected by L-arginine supplementation in the current study. These results
indicate that dietary supplementation with 0.5 or 1.0 g/kg of L-arginine could not generate changes in nitrogen or amino acid
digestibility and amino acid balance, which resulted in a non-significant fecal noxious gas emission in finishing pigs.

4.3. Meat quality

Dietary arginine supplementation increased IMF deposition (marbling score) by regulating arginine-nitric oxide synthase
pathway, or by regulating lipid metabolism, upregulating the mRNA levels of genes involved in fat synthesis in muscle, thereby
increasing marbling score in pork (Jobgen et al., 2006; Tan et al., 2011; Hu et al., 2017b). Meat color and marbling are considered as
a determinant index deciding the consumer's acceptance of the product in pork market. In the current study, the meat marbling was
linearly increased and drip loss was linearly decreased by L-arginine supplementation, which is in agreement with Ma et al. (2010),
who reported that finishing pigs supplemented with 5 g/kg or 10 g/kg L-arginine showed increased IMF and attenuated drip loss of
pork muscle. In the current study, the drip loss in LA1.0 group was significantly lower than CON and LA0.5 groups after 7 days
storage. This may be explained in part by Cannata et al. (2010), who reported that the pork with high visual marbling had a
significantly lower drip loss than the pork with low visual marbling. As reported by Offer et al. (1992), the majority of moisture is
held in muscle tissue and muscle cells. Long storage of pork could elevate pH and increase extracellular spaces which could increase
drip loss (Rahman et al., 2013; Koomkrong et al., 2017). Moreover, Ma et al. (2010) reported that decreased drip loss in L-arginine
supplemented pigs was positively related to the improved anti-oxidative status in the tissue which decreases lipid peroxidation (Hu
et al., 2017c). In accordance with current finding, Tous et al. (2016) and Hu et al. (2017a) observed an increased IMF in pigs fed L-
arginine. This finding can be explained by the fact that arginine supplemented diets could increase PPARγ expression to enhance
lipogenesis in intramuscular adipose tissue (Ma et al., 2010; Tan et al., 2011). Contrary to above studies, Go et al. (2012) and Madeira
et al. (2014) did not find an increased IMF in finishing pigs fed with 10 g/kg L-arginine. This discrepancy result on IMF between the
present study and the work of Go et al. (2012) and Madeira et al. (2014) may be explained by the difference in dietary lysine:arginine
ratio (0.38 and 0.40, respectively) which was much higher than in previous studies presented above. Obviously, further research is
needed.

5. Conclusion

Dietary supplementation with increasing levels of L-arginine does not affect growth performance, nutrient digestibility, or gas
emission. However, it linearly increased marbling score, and linearly reduced muscle cooking loss and drip loss. Thus, results of
present study demonstrated that 1.0 g/kg L-arginine would be beneficial in improving the meat quality in finishing pigs. Further
research is required to elucidate the optimal lysine:arginine ratio and the underlying molecular mechanisms.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors confirm that there are no conflicts of interest associated with this publication.

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of Department of Animal Resources and Science, Dankook University to conduct
this study. This research did not receive any specific funding.

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