Research Advances in Antioxidant Function of YeastSelenium and Its Effect on Meat Quality of Finishing Pigs

Pork consumption plays a leading role in the meat consumption of Chinese residents. With the improvement of people's living standards, consumers put forward higher requirements for pork quality. Researches have found that pork quality of pigs can be influenced by genetics, nutrition, feeding management and environmental factors, which can be reflected by many indicators such as meat color, pH, intramuscular fat, drip loss, tenderness, flavor and so on. The oxidative stress is the main factor affecting the pork quality. Selenium is an important part of glutathione peroxidase, which can resistoxidative stress by reducing the production of organic hydroperoxides. Many studies have shown that dietary supplementation with yeast selenium can effectively improve the antioxidant capacity of finishing pigs, and improve the meat color, pH value and water holding capacity, thus contributing to the improvement of meat quality and extending the shelf life of pork. Therefore, this paper reviews the antioxidant mechanism of yeast selenium and its effect on meat quality in finishing pigs, which may provide scientific basis for the nutritional strategies concerning improvement of meat quality.