Dieta de suínos: um estudo utilizando guaraná (paullinia cupana var. sorbilis) em pó como aditivo

Abstract

The pig industry has sought improvements in the quality of products while seeking to reduce production costs. The use of additives in swine diets is an alternative that proposes an increase in metabolic performance, reducing the high costs of feeding. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the performance and carcass characteristics of finishing swine fed a diet containing different levels of guarana (Paullinia cupana var. sorbilis) powder as an additive. The study was developed during the period of 25 years in an agricultural college located in the city of Erechim/RS. We used 48 pigs (24 males/24 females) in the experiment through randomized blocks (6 repetitions in pairs: 1m/1f) with 4 treatments: control (zero additive), 1, 2 and 3% of the live weight of the animals of guarana powder as an additive. The parameters measured for performance and carcass characteristics were: initial live weight, final live weight, weight gain, daily feed intake, feed conversion, hot carcass yield, cold carcass yield, carcass length, average backfat thickness, Backfat thickness at point 2, loin eye area and fat/meat ratio were measured. Daily feed intake and daily weight gain of pigs decreased as the levels of additive inclusion increased. In relation to the hot and cold carcass yield, we observed the highest percentage at the 3% level of additive inclusion. We conclude that the guarana powder additive used in diets can cause different effects on parameters. Therefore, the diet containing the 3% level of additive gives better carcass yield, while feed consumption and weight gain decrease as the levels of guarana powder inclusion increase.