Conclusion
The results indicate the similar effectiveness of both methods of piglet castration on the reduction of compounds generating boar taint. The usefulness of testing oral fluid for the ante-mortem prediction of boar taint has not been fully confirmed and further investigation is needed.
Material and methods
The research material was pooled oral fluid and fat samples taken from gilts and surgically and immunologically castrated piglets. The samples were tested with a liquid chromatography- tandem mass spectrometry method developed in this research.
Methods
The research material was pooled oral fluid and fat samples taken from gilts and surgically and immunologically castrated piglets. The samples were tested with a liquid chromatography- tandem mass spectrometry method developed in this research.
Results
The compounds giving rise to boar taint were found only sporadically above the accepted limits; only one sample of oral fluid contained skatole at a concentration above 200 μg L-1 and one contained indole more concentrated than 100 μg L-1. Indole above the limit value was also detected in one fat sample. In none of the tested samples was androstenone found.