The aim of the present experiment was to determine whether age, live weight, or a combination of both, was the most important factor influencing fat 5 alpha-androstenone levels in male pigs. Three groups of 50 boars each were fed either on a liberal plane of nutrition (CTRL group) or were restricted (SW and SA groups). Fat 5 alpha-androstenone was measured three times in each pig (on biopsies a...

Bacterial cholesterol oxidase is commonly used as an experimental tool to reduce cellular cholesterol content. That the treatment also generates the poorly degradable metabolite 4-cholesten-3-one (cholestenone) has received less attention. Here, we investigated the membrane partitioning of cholestenone using simulations and cell biological experiments and assessed the functional effects of chol...

Sugars are recognized as signaling molecules regulating the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in plants. Here, a modulatory effect of sugars on dolichol and phytosterol profiles was noted in the hairy roots of Arabidopsis thaliana. Arabidopsis roots contain a complex dolichol mixture comprising three groups ('families') of dolichols differing in the chain-length. These dolichols, especially...

Following preliminary screening and feeding trials on farms supplying a commercial abattoir, 360 entire male pigs were used to evaluate the effects of different percentages of chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) on levels of boar taint compounds and sensory aspects in backfat. Pigs were fed 0, 3, 6 or 9% chicory in the diet, 30 pigs being sampled at 3 different times: initially to measure basal leve...

We describe the development of a fluorescent biosensor platform for soluble cholesterol based on bovine serum albumin-stabilized gold nanocluster probes co-dissolved with cholesterol oxidase (ChOx) in a surfactant emulsion system. Selective enzymatic oxidation of cholesterol to cholest-4-en-3-one by ChOx produces stoichiometric amounts of H2O2 by-product, generating a quenching response signali...

It has been suggested that skatole, one of the main compounds responsible for boar taint, can be lowered by keeping pigs clean, as skatole can be absorbed through skin and/or lungs (Hansen, Larsen, Jensen, HansenMoller & Bartongade, 1994). With this experiment, we further investigated this hypothesis by comparing extremely clean with extremely dirty animals with regard to the occurrence of boar...

We describe a completely automated enzymic system for measuring total cholesterol in serum. All reagents are contained in an analytical test pack and the test is performed on Du Pont's Automatic Clinical Analyzer (aca), which mixes the sample (20 microliter) and reagents and performs the necessary absorbance measurements and calculations. In the procedure, cholesterol oxidase oxidizes free chol...

Cholesterol oxidase (COX), a bi-functional FAD-containing microbial enzyme belongs to the family oxidoreductases. COX catalyses the oxidation of cholesterol into 4-cholesten-3-one. In recent time, cholesterol oxidase has received great attention due to its wider use in clinical (determination of serum cholesterol) laboratories practice and in the biocatalysis for the production of a number of s...

Piétrain (P), Large White (LW) and Belgian Landrace stress negative (BN) boars were slaughtered at 50, 70, 90 or 110 kg live weight to investigate breed differences and the effect of slaughter weight on boar taint prevalence. Boar taint was quantified by four different methodologies: sensory evaluation of neckfat heated with a hot iron in the slaughterhouse, sensory evaluation of meat by consum...