Abstract
Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to study the relationship between carcass traits and pork quality characteristics and make a total evaluation of pigs. One hundred three-way crossbred pigs (LWD) were used in this study. A11 the carcass traits were assessed using objective measurements. Moreover, meat quality characteristics were pH, color, moisture, water-holding capacity, and intramuscular fat of longissimus thoracis. As a result, the first three principal components (PC) explained approximately 75% of total variables (n=10) for carcass traits and the first five PC can clarify 69% of the meat quality characteristics (n=14) . The carcass and loin lengths define the first PC of carcass traits, and the loin eye area has greatly effects on the three principal components. The first two PC of meat quality are the meat color indexes and moisture, and intramuscular fat defines the third principal component. In conclusion, PCA has not only been proven to be a very effective method to obtain a synthetic judgment of meat quality and carcass traits but also it clarifies the order of important characteristics of carcass and pork quality.HomePageKeywords: carcass, meat quality, principal component analysis, pigs, quality evaluation