Person:
Alfonso Ruiz, Leopoldo

Loading...
Profile Picture

Email Address

Birth Date

Research Projects

Organizational Units

Job Title

Last Name

Alfonso Ruiz

First Name

Leopoldo

person.page.departamento

Agronomía, Biotecnología y Alimentación

person.page.instituteName

IS-FOOD. Research Institute on Innovation & Sustainable Development in Food Chain

ORCID

0000-0002-5662-9997

person.page.upna

1974

Name

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • PublicationOpen Access
    Comparative description of growth, fat deposition, carcass and meat quality characteristics of Basque and Large White pigs
    (EDP Sciences, 2005) Alfonso Ruiz, Leopoldo; Mourot, Jacques; Insausti Barrenetxea, Kizkitza; Mendizábal Aizpuru, José Antonio; Arana Navarro, Ana; Producción Agraria; Nekazaritza Ekoizpena; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua
    Characteristics of growth, fat deposition, carcass and meat quality of pigs from the Basque Black Pied breed were described and compared with those of Large White pigs. Four pens, two per breed, of eleven pigs born during the same two week period, were simultaneously fattened and slaughtered, under the same conditions. The experiment was carried out over a fixed duration (124 days) and slaughter was carried out at a fixed average age (202 days). Basque pigs showed lower growth and feed efficiency and higher backfat depth (2.6 vs. 1.7 cm, P < 0.001) than Large White pigs. The difference was especially noticeable in the middle subcutaneous fat layer (0.5 cm, P < 0.001). The meat of Basque pigs was darker, redder, more marbled, and with higher pH values than in Large White pigs. Differences in fatty acid composition were observed between breeds but they were not statistically significant (P > 0.05) because of high variability observed between animals. The Basque breed exhibited an early and higher adipose development and a higher activity of enzymes responsible for lipid synthesis than the Large White. The diameter of intramuscular adipose cells was larger in Basque (40.2 vs. 33.0 μm, P < 0.001) than in Large White pigs. The results show the particular characteristics of the Basque breed as compared to pig lines highly selected for lean growth efficiency.
  • PublicationOpen Access
    Adipose tissue modification through feeding strategies and their implication on adipogenesis and adipose tissue metabolism in ruminants
    (MDPI, 2020) Urrutia Vera, Olaia; Mendizábal Aizpuru, José Antonio; Alfonso Ruiz, Leopoldo; Soret Lafraya, Beatriz; Insausti Barrenetxea, Kizkitza; Arana Navarro, Ana; Agronomia, Bioteknologia eta Elikadura; Institute on Innovation and Sustainable Development in Food Chain - ISFOOD; Agronomía, Biotecnología y Alimentación; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
    Dietary recommendations by health authorities have been advising of the importance of diminishing saturated fatty acids (SFA) consumption and replacing them by polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), particularly omega-3. Therefore, there have been efforts to enhance food fatty acid profiles, helping them to meet human nutritional recommendations. Ruminant meat is the major dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) source, but it also contains SFA at relatively high proportions, deriving from ruminal biohydrogenation of PUFA. Additionally, lipid metabolism in ruminants may differ from other species. Recent research has aimed to modify the fatty acid profile of meat, and other animal products. This review summarizes dietary strategies based on the n-3 PUFA supplementation of ruminant diets and their effects on meat fatty acid composition. Additionally, the role of n-3 PUFA in adipose tissue (AT) development and in the expression of key genes involved in adipogenesis and lipid metabolism is discussed. It has been demonstrated that linseed supplementation leads to an increase in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), but not in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), whilst fish oil and algae increase DHA content. Dietary PUFA can alter AT adiposity and modulate lipid metabolism genes expression, although further research is required to clarify the underlying mechanism.