Abstract
Seventeen crossbred lambs were assigned randomly to low-protein (LP; 8% crude protein [CP]; n=9) and high-protein (HP; 13% CP; n=8) diets for 9 weeks. The final body weight, average daily feed intake (ADFI), and average daily gain (ADG) of the HP lambs were significantly higher (P<0.05) than the LP lambs; however, gain to feed ratio (G:F) for the LP lambs was significantly higher (P<0.05) than the HP lambs. Hot carcass weight (HCW), adjusted fat thickness, and drip loss of longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle were significantly higher (P<0.05) for the HP than LP lambs. In contrast, instrumental color values L*, a*, b*, C*, and hue angle (H) of meat from the LP lambs scored significantly higher (P<0.05) than the HP lambs. The LD muscle from HP lambs had significantly greater CLA of cis-9 trans-11 isomer (P<0.05) than the LP lambs. The gene expression of metabolism and meat quality-related genes of LP was significantly higher than HP (P<0.05). These results suggest that a higher dietary CP level promotes growth performance for finishing lambs, whereas lower dietary CP level is beneficial for meat quality, especially when evaluating color characteristics in the final product.
Published Version
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