Meat Of Young Bulls Research Articles

Age castration of Nellore males on the profile of fatty acids of meat

This study aimed to evaluate the cholesterol content, ?-tocopherol and fatty acids in the meat of Nellore young bulls or steers castrated at different ages, 13 or 18 months. The animals were confined for 100 days and slaughtered at 22 months of age. The experimental design was completely randomized with three treatments, using 12 repetitions. The levels of palmitic acid (26.39%), stearic (24.39%), myristic (3.01%) and total saturated fatty acids were not altered by sexual condition or castration age. Oleic was the fatty acid with the highest average participation in the meat (34.54%), and lower content in the meat of young bulls in relation to the castrated. The content of total unsaturated fatty acids was lower in the young bulls in relation to castrated at 18 months, which did not differ from castrated at 12 months. The content of total polyunsaturated fatty acids was increased by elevation of the castration age, being similar between young bulls and castrated at 18 months. The ratio ?6/?3 was not altered by sexual condition or castration age. Castration at the beginning of the finishing period increases the content of beneficial fatty acids to health in relation to castrated in the first third of backgrounding.

Carcass physical composition and physic-chemical characteristics of meat from Nellore cattle

Assessment of carcass physical composition and physicochemical characteristics of meat from Nellore males distributed randomly into three treatments: males castrated at 13 months of age at puberty (n=26); castrated at 18 months of age, 15 days before confinement (n=26); and young bulls (n=25). For the evaluation of meat chemical characteristics, we used samples of 12 animals taken at random from each treatment. The experimental design was completely randomized. Animals were slaughtered at 22 months of age after 100 days of confinement. The carcasses of young bulls showed higher contents of muscle (66.46 %) and bone (16.03 %), and lower fat content (17.66 %), in relation to that of steers castrated at 13 (62.83,15.28, and 22.11 %, respectively) or 18 months (63.99, 15.29, and 21.53%, respectively), which did not differ amongst themselves. The meat of young bulls was darker (3.07 points) than the meat from those castrated at 13 months of age (3.43 points), while the meat from those castrated at 18 months displayed an intermediate color (3.29 points), not differing from the others. Young bulls yielded meat with lower content of intramuscular fat (3.18 points) and lipids (3.81%) in relation to those castrated at 13 (4.58 points and 6.77%, respectively) or 18 months (4.52 points and 5.66%, respectively). Protein content was higher (P 0.05) by the age of castration, with young bulls having lower values in relation to the castrated males. Castration of Nellore young bulls in early puberty increases the edible portion of the carcass due to the higher body fat deposit.

<b>Quality of aged meat of young bulls fed crude glycerin associated with different roughage sources

This trial aimed to evaluate the inclusion of 10% of crude glycerin associated with roughage sources on the quality of meat aged for 1, 7 or 14 days post mortem of Nellore young bulls. Thirty feedlot animals (n = 10) with initial body weight of 416.70 ± 24.74 kg and 18 months of age were assigned to three treatments: corn silage (CS), sugar cane (SC) and sugar cane bagasse (CB), using a completely randomized design. After 85 days of feeding, animals were slaughtered with 554.51 ± 38.51 kg. Samples of longissimus muscle were collected, after carcass chilling, and vacuum-packed. Diets influenced pH, meat color and subcutaneous fat (SF) (p > 0.05). Animals fed CS showed higher values of b* in SF (p 0.05). Aging times influenced pH and shear force of beef (p < 0.05). Beef aged for 14 days showed higher pH (5.90) and lower shear force (2.40 kgf). Diets containing 10% crude glycerin in the DM associated with CS, SC or CB had no effect on the fatty acid profile in beef. The aging process for 14 days reduces shear force, improving meat quality.