Concentrations of Boar Taint Compounds Are Weakly Associated with Sexual Behavior of Young Boars

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Boar taint is an off-odor and off-flavor affecting pork meat caused by the accumulation of three main compounds in the adipose tissue of uncastrated male pigs: androstenone, skatole, and indole. Boar taint occurrence is associated with sexual maturity onset; thus, strategies for reducing boar taint compound concentrations might lead to impaired male sexual behavior. This study investigated the relationships between boar taint compound concentrations and sexual behavior traits (sexual arousal, salivation, mounting performance, interest in the dummy sow, penis unsheathing, and overall libido) scored during training with the dummy sow in 391 young boars. Overall, our results suggest that a weak relationship between boar taint compounds and sexual behavior traits exists. The maximization of libido performances was observed at high levels of androstenone, intermediate or low levels of skatole, and intermediate to high levels of indole, but the relationship between BT compounds and sexual behavior appears to be weak. ABSTRACT: Strategies to control boar taint (BT) in meat relies on the reduction of skatole, indole, and androstenone concentration. This might have unfavorable effects on the libido of breeding boars. The association between BT compound concentration in backfat and libido was investigated in 391 commercial breeding boars. Six sexual behavior traits (SBT; sexual arousal, salivation, mounting performance, interest in the dummy sow, penis unsheathing, and overall libido score) were scored during the training of the boars with the dummy sow. Variation in SBT was analyzed by proportional-odds cumulative logistic models. Overall, indole, skatole, and androstenone concentrations were weakly associated with libido. Farm of origin, age at training or body weight, and BT compound levels were poor predictors of boar performance (the area under the ROC curve ranged from 0.60 to 0.69). This indicates that BT compound concentrations were weakly associated with libido, even though the probability of observing good SBT scores increased with high levels of androstenone, intermediate or low levels of skatole, and intermediate to high levels of indole. Hence, practices aiming at reducing androstenone, and controlling the concentrations of skatole and indole to intermediate levels are not expected to impair the libido of young boars.