ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to determine the effect of disease incidence on selected parameters of cattle fattening performance and carcass quality, and the fatty acid profile of beef. The experimental materials comprised 16 bulls and 16 steers, Polish Holstein-Friesian × Limousin crossbreeds (including 10 healthy and six treated animals of each category). At 5 weeks of age, bloodless castration was carried out using a rubber elastrator. The calves were fed milk replacer provided in automatic feeding stations. Until 540 days of age, the animals were fattened in an Animal Research Laboratory equipped with the Roughage Intake Control (RIC) system (Insentec, the Netherlands). In comparison with healthy (untreated) bulls and steers, sick (treated) animals had lower average body weight at 180 days of age, by 37 kg (P ≤ 0.05) and lower average final body weight at 540 days of age, by 56 kg (P ≤ 0.05). Sick animals were characterized by lower feed intake and worse feed efficiency (not statistically significant differences). Hot carcass weight reached 318 kg in healthy animals and 258 kg in treated bulls (P ≤ 0.05). In treated steers, the percentage of lean meat and bones in the three-rib section was higher and the percentage of fat was lower, compared with their healthy counterparts (P ≤ 0.01). There was a category × health status interaction for carcass tissue composition. There were no significant influences of type of sickness on analyzed traits. In comparison with healthy steers, intramuscular fat of Musculus longissimus dorsi (MLD) from treated steers had significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-6 and n-3) and a lower content of conjugated linoleic acid.
Subject(s)
Cattle/growth & development , Cattle/metabolism , Food Quality , Health Status , Hybridization, Genetic/physiology , Meat , Animals , Body Weight , Eating/physiology , Fatty Acids/analysis , Fatty Acids, Unsaturated/analysis , Fatty Acids, Unsaturated/metabolism , Linoleic Acids, Conjugated/analysis , Linoleic Acids, Conjugated/metabolism , Male , Meat/analysis , Muscle, Skeletal/metabolismABSTRACT
The study compared the slaughter value and meat quality of heifers and once-calved heifers slaughtered at the age of 18 and 28months, respectively. The once-calved heifers at the age of 15months, were bred with semen of Limousine bulls and following the calving they fed their offspring and then they were slaughtered. There were no differences in the carcass conformation and fatness between the treatments. Once-calved heifers' carcasses had a higher proportion (P<0.05) of 5 most valuable primal cuts as compared with heifers. Meat of once-calved heifers contained more (P<0.05) intramuscular fat, was darker (P<0.01), and exhibited a higher water-holding capacity and lower cooking loss (P<0.05) as compared with heifers' meat. In conclusion, due to the possibility for obtaining additional offspring and a heavier pre-slaughter weight without reducing the slaughter value of the carcass and meat quality, it is recommended to use heifers originating from commercial crossbreeding as the once-calved ones.
Subject(s)
Body Composition/physiology , Meat/standards , Animals , Cattle/genetics , Cattle/physiology , Crosses, Genetic , Female , Meat/economics , Parity , Pregnancy , ReproductionABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to determine the effect of slaughter season on the fatty acid profile in four types of fat deposits in crossbred (Polish Holstein Friesian Black-and-White×Limousine) beef bulls. The percentage share of fatty acids was determined by gas chromatography and were divided into the following categories of fatty acids: saturated (SFAs), unsaturated (UFAs), monounsaturated (MUFAs), polyunsaturated (PUFAs), desirable hypocholesterolemic (DFAs) and undesirable hypercholesterolemic (OFAs), n-3 and n-6. Perinephric fat was characterized by the highest SFA concentrations (59.89%), and subcutaneous fat had the highest MUFA content (50.63%). Intramuscular fat was marked by a high percentage share of PUFAs and the highest PUFA/SFA ratio. The slaughter season had a significant effect on the levels of C18:3, C20:4 (p≤0.01) and conjugated linoleic acid (p≤0.05). There was an interaction between the slaughter season and fat type for the content of C20:4 (p≤0.01) and C20:5 (p≤0.05). The results of this study show that beef from cattle slaughtered in the summer season has a higher nutritional value and more health-promoting properties.
