Effect of feeding peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) powder on meat quality and fatty acid composition in finishing Korean native black pigs

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of peppermint powder on meat quality and fatty acid composition in finishing Korean native black pigs. Ninety pigs were randomly allocated to three dietary treatments and fed peppermint powder at 0 (C), 0.2 (T1), and 0.4% (T2) in the basal diet, respectively for 50 d. The proximate composition of Longissimus dorsi muscle was not significantly different among the treatments; however, the fat content in T2 tended to be lower than the control. No difference in pH_45min was observed, whereas pH_24h was higher in T2 than the control (p<0.01). T2 showed the lowest lightness (p<0.01) and yellowness values (p<0.05), but shear force and drip loss were no different among the treatments. Individual fatty acid and cholesterol compositions did not differ among the treatments; however, T1 showed a decreasing trend for saturated fatty acid content and an increasing trend for unsaturated fatty acid content. The hypocholes-terolemic index was significantly higher in T1 than in the control (p<0.05). These results suggest that dietary peppermint could positively affect fatty acid and cholesterol levels without changing meat quality in finishing Korean native black pigs.