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Effects of L-DOPA Supplementation on Concentrations of Brain Catechols, Dopamine Receptor Binding and the Incidence of Pale, Soft and Exudative Meat in Stress-Suspectible Pigs^1,2,3,

Iowa State University, Ames 50011

⁹ To whom reprint requests should be sent.

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to determine if chronic dietary L-DOPA supplementation will alter differentially the brain catechol concentrations, dopamine receptor binding (K_D and B_max) and the incidence of pale, soft and exudative (PSE) meat in stress-susceptible (SS) and stress-resistant (SR) pigs. Stress-susceptible and SR pigs were assigned randomly to these four groups: SS pigs as controls, SR pigs as controls, SS pigs with L-DOPA supplementation and SR pigs with L-DOPA supplementation. The experiment began when pigs weighed 23 kg and terminated when pigs weighed 95 kg. Anatomical brain structures removed at slaughter included hypothalamus, thalamus, cortex, cerebellum, olfactory bulb, caudate nucleus, putamen and substantia nigra. Concentrations of norepinephrine and dopamine were greater in the hypothalami of SS than of SR control pigs. The L-DOPA supplementation eliminated the strain differences of brain catecholamine concentrations. Pigs fed L-DOPA had greater concentrations of dihydroxyphenylacetic acid in six of the eight brain regions analyzed than the controls. Dopamine receptor binding (B_max and K_D) of spiroperidol was similar in all four groups of pigs. Pale, soft and exudative pork developed to the same extent in SS pigs with or without L-DOPA treatment. The results suggest that L-DOPA supplementation eliminates strain differences in brain catecholamine concentrations but does not alter PSE meat development or striatal dopamine receptor binding.

¹ Journal Paper No. J-11526 of the Iowa Agr. and Home Econ. Exp. Sta., Ames; Project 1901.

² This research was supported in part by the American Parkinson Disease Assoc. and the Frances and Edgar Reynolds Foundation: BNS-7921105.

³ Presented in part at the 13th annual meeting of the Soc. for Neurosci., Boston, MA, November 1983, Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. 9,1151.

⁴ Dept. Biochem. Biophys., Iowa State Univ., Ames 50011.

⁵ Presently at Brain Res. Inst, and Lab. of Biomed. and Environ. Sci., Univ. of California, Los Angeles 90024.

⁶ Dept. of Vet. Anat., Iowa State Univ., Ames 50011.

⁷ Dept. of Anim. Sci., Iowa State Univ., Ames 50011.

⁸ Dept. of Pharmacol., Univ. Nebraska Med. Center, Omaha 68105.

¹⁰ The authors wish to thank Jean D. Deupree for her efforts in establishing the cooperative arrangement between Iowa State Univ. and Univ. of Nebraska. In addition, the authors are appreciative to Margaret A. Cooper for her technical assistance in this experiment.