Q & A
Rodrigo Manjarín, assistant professor in the Cal Poly Animal Science Department, is overseeing a cutting-edge research project focused on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease using a special breed of swine from Spain called Iberian pigs.
Ten sows and one boar are being leased to Cal Poly for the project. “I was diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which would have led to diabetes, and was able to reverse the condition within one year through diet change,” said Manjarín. “If we can show the good and bad effects of what we eat not just in one patient but in many, so that it becomes statistically relevant, maybe people will start to believe that certain foods and eating habits can lead to serious health conditions.”
What is an Iberian pig? How is it different from other swine typically raised in North America?
A: Iberian pigs come from Spain where they have been raised for hundreds of years to provide meat in areas where it is otherwise difficult to raise any other livestock. Iberian pigs can survive in harsh conditions thanks to a phenotype that allows them to store energy as fat, allowing them to use this energy during periods of food scarcity. This phenotype is caused by a mutation in the Leptin receptor, making it so the pigs are able to ingest a lot of food without feeling satiety, as well as to store it as fat. They are bred free range, grazing on acorns that fall from oak trees. They consume large amounts of acorns, nature pastures and proteins, while they exercise looking for food. The fat stored from the special diet producing marbling of the meat giving the product appealing gastronomic properties.
Where did you get the pigs? How many do you have and how long will you keep them?
A: The pigs we are studying at Cal Poly are from a pure Iberian breed from Texas. The pigs were born of the first Iberian pigs brought to the U.S. by the company Acornseekers. Cal Poly currently has 10 females and one male, which will be used for both research and to teach students sustainable swine production.
You will be doing cutting edge research related to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. What exactly will you be studying?
A: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a health problem commonly diagnosed among adolescents in the U.S., along with other conditions of the metabolic syndrome, all of them associated with diet. We are trying to understand the effect of dietary sugar and fat in bacterial populations in the gut, and how changes in these bacterial populations affect liver inflammation and fat deposition in infants.
How are students incorporated into your research?
A: Students are responsible for maintaining the Iberian pig colony and assisting the graduate students with daily research tasks such as overseeing research diets, collecting and processing samples, and handling animals.
What is your ultimate goal with the project?
A: To understand how food impacts health and life overall, so that decisions about diet can correlate. We are researching the role that probiotics might play in reducing the impacts of metabolic syndrome, which leads to heart disease and other health problems such as diabetes and strokes. Ultimately, we want to determine the link between what is happening in the gut with bacteria and how that impacts the functioning of the liver.