3 results
Meat quality of farmed red deer fed a balanced diet: effects of supplementation with copper bolus on different muscles
- M. P. Serrano, A. Maggiolino, J. M. Lorenzo, P. De Palo, A. García, T. Landete-Castillejos, P. Gambín, J. Cappelli, R. Domínguez, F. J. Pérez-Barbería, L. Gallego
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Supplementation with copper (Cu) improves deer antler characteristics, but it could modify meat quality and increase its Cu content to levels potentially harmful for humans. Here, we studied the effects of Cu bolus supplementation by means on quality and composition of sternocephalicus (ST) and rectus abdominis (RA) muscles (n=13 for each one) from yearling male red deer fed with a balanced diet. Each intraruminal bolus, containing 3.4 g of Cu, was administered orally in the treatment group to compare with the control group. Meat traits studied were pH at 24 h postmortem (pH24), colour, chemical composition, cholesterol content, fatty acid (FA) composition, amino acid (AA) profile and mineral content. In addition, the effect of Cu supplementation on mineral composition of liver and serum (at 0 and 90 days of treatment) was analysed. No interactions between Cu supplementation and muscle were observed for any trait. Supplementation with Cu increased the protein content of meat (P<0.01). However, Cu content of meat, liver and serum was not modified by supplementation. In fact, Cu content of meat (1.20 and 1.34 mg/kg for Cu supplemented and control deer, respectively) was much lower in both groups than 5 mg/kg of fresh weight allowed legally for food of animal origin. However, bolus of Cu tended to increase the meat content of zinc and significantly increased (P<0.05) the hepatic contents of sodium and lead. Muscles studied had different composition and characteristics. The RA muscle had significantly higher protein content (P<0.001), monounsaturated FA content (P<0.05) and essential/non-essential AA ratio (P<0.01) but lower pH24 (P<0.01) and polyunsaturated FA content (P=0.001) than the ST muscle. In addition, RA muscle had 14.4% less cholesterol (P=0.001) than ST muscle. Also, mineral profile differed between muscles with higher content of iron, significantly higher (P<0.001) content of zinc and lower content of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus (P<0.05) for ST muscle compared with RA. Therefore, supplementation with Cu modified deer meat characteristics, but it did not increase its concentration to toxic levels, making it a safe practice from this perspective. Despite the lower content of polyunsaturated FA, quality was better for RA than for ST muscle based on its higher content of protein with more essential/non-essential AA ratio and lower pH24 and cholesterol content.
Effects of whole linseed supplementation and treatment duration on fatty acid profile and endogenous bioactive compounds of beef muscle
- R. Marino, A. della Malva, M. Caroprese, P. de Palo, A. Santillo, A. Sevi, M. Albenzio
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Diet supplementation with oilseeds is known to improve the fatty acid profile of meat, but few studies have been carried out to determine the time required for the incorporation of a significant quantity of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) into meat from steers. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the effects of linseed supplementation and feeding duration on the fatty acid profile, cholesterol and bioactive compounds of bovine meat. In total, 54 Friesian steers were randomly allocated during the finishing period into six experimental treatments following a 2×3 factorial design. The six treatments consisted of two diets, the control diet (CO) with no supplemental fat and the linseed diet (LS) containing 10% whole linseed, fed 40, 75 or 120 days before slaughter. At the end of each finishing period, steers from the CO and LS groups were slaughtered. After 8 days of ageing chemical analysis, the fatty acid profile, cholesterol content and bioactive compounds were determined from the longissimus thoracis muscle. Including linseed in the diet increased the content of monounsaturated fatty acids, CLA and n-3 PUFA, and reduced the proportion of saturated fatty acids and n-6 PUFA. The percentage of myristic fatty acid increased with the duration of feeding, regardless of diet and a decrease in PUFA and n-6 PUFA was observed in the CO and LS diets, respectively. Furthermore, meat from steers fed linseed showed an increased percentage of n-3 PUFA, linolenic acid, and EPA from 40 to 75 days of feeding, whereas vaccenic acid, CLA 9c,11t, and total CLA increased from 40 and 75 days but declined at 120 days. Beef from the linseed group had a higher content of bioactive substances such as creatine, carnosine and anserine than beef from the control group. The duration of feeding significantly affected the creatine concentrations, with an increase in the LS group from 40 to 75 days of feeding. Feeding linseed did not modify the cholesterol content, on average and the lowest cholesterol content was found in meat after 75 days of linseed administration. This study demonstrates that a short-term diet manipulation is sufficient to improve the nutritional properties of meat, including n-3 PUFA and bioactive compounds.
Podolian beef production on pasture and in confinement
- A. Braghieri, C. Pacelli, G. De Rosa, A. Girolami, P. De Palo, F. Napolitano
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From February to August 2007 the effect of rearing system (confined (C) v. free ranging (FR)) and season (spring v. summer) was evaluated on behaviour, immune and blood parameters and beef production (experiment 1). From February to August 2008, the effect of rearing system was only evaluated on beef production (experiment 2). A total of 12 Podolian young bulls were used each year. They were slaughtered at 18 and 15 months of age in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Herbage mass and pasture composition were monitored during the 2 years. Pasture availability, in terms of herbage mass and composition, as well as its seasonal development, was similar in the 2 years. In the first experiment, FR animals spent more time walking (P < 0.05), feeding (P < 0.001) and standing (P < 0.01) and showed a lower number of agonistic (P < 0.05) and non-agonistic social interaction than C animals (P < 0.01). Significant lower concentrations of serum urea nitrogen (P < 0.001) and creatinine (P < 0.10) in FR animals indicated a lower protein nutritional status due to inadequate protein availability at pasture. As a consequence, average daily gains (P < 0.05), slaughter weight (P < 0.05) and body condition score (P < 0.01) were lower in grazing animals as compared with C bulls. Cellular immune responsiveness was higher in FR animals (P < 0.05). Similarly, antibody titre to keyhole limpet hemocyanin was higher in FR bulls at the 2nd and 3rd month after antigen injection (P < 0.05), whereas it tended to be higher at the 4th month (P < 0.10). In both experiments, grazing negatively affected meat colour in terms of lightness. Eighteen-month-old bulls also showed lower final weight, weight gain and body conditions when kept outdoor: a possible consequence of nutrient deficits, as suggested by the metabolic status of FR animals. The same animals, however, benefited from FR in terms of natural behaviour expression and immune responsiveness. When the experiment was replicated the subsequent year, on animals slaughtered at 15 months of age, no differences between the performances of FR and C animals were detected. The earlier slaughter age system was also proportionally less dependent on external inputs as grazing was not extended to the dry season when herbage mass availability was lower.