Effects of feeding high-energy diet on growth performance, blood parameters, and carcass traits in Hanwoo steers

Abstract

Objective: Our study aimed to investigate the effects of a 2% increase in dietary total digestible nutrients (TDN) value during the growing (7 to 12 mo of age) and fattening (13 to 30 mo of age) period of Hanwoo steers.Methods: Two hundred and twenty Hanwoo steers were assigned to one of two treatments: i) a control group (basal TDN, BTDN, n = 111 steers, growing = 70.5%, early fattening = 71.0%, late fattening = 74.0%) or high TDN (HTDN, n = 109 steers, growing = 72.6%, early = 73.1%, late = 76.2%). Growth performance, carcass traits, blood parameters, and gene expression of longissimus dorsi (LD) (7, 18, and 30 mo) were quantified.Results: Steers on the BTDN diets had increased (p≤0.02) DMI throughout the feeding trial compared to HTDN, but gain did not differ appreciably. A greater proportion of cattle in HTDN received Korean quality grade 1 (82%) or greater compared to BTDN (77%), while HTDN had a greater yield grade (29%) than BTDN (20%). Redness (a*) of LD muscle was improved (p = 0.021) in steers fed HTDN. Feeding the HTDN diet did not alter blood parameters. Steers fed HTDN diet increased (p = 0.015) the proportion of stearic acid and tended to alter linoleic acid. Overall, saturated, unsaturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids of LD muscle were not impacted by the HTDN treatment. A treatment by age interaction was noted for mRNA expression of myosin heavy chain (MHC) IIA, IIX, and stearoyl CoA desaturase (SCD) (p≤0.026). No treatment effect was detected on gene expression from LD muscle biopsies at 7, 18, and 30 mo of age; however, an age effect was detected for all variables measured (p≤0.001).Conclusion: Our results indicated that feeding HTDN diet could improve overall quality grade while minimum effects were noted in gene expression, blood parameters, and growing performance. Cattle performance prediction in the feedlot is a critical decisionmaking tool for optimal planning of cattle fattening and these data provide both benchmark physiological parameters and growth performance measures for Hanwoo cattle feeding enterprises.

Objective Meat Quality from Quality Grade and Backfat Thickness of Hanwoo Steers

“… May et al (1992) also found that sensory tenderness scores decreased (p<0.05) for steaks from steers with a mean back-fat thickness of 21.08 mm. Previous study suggested that the carcass maturity ( Jerez-Timaure et al, 2013 ) and age could affect tenderness ( Kang et al, 2022 ). Maturity and age were kept similar for all the animals in our study.…”

Effect of Different Roughage Sources in Fermented Total Mixed Ration and Energy Intake on Meat Quality, Collagen Solubility, Troponin T Degradation, and Fatty Acids of Native Thai Cattle Longissimus Muscle

“…Ku et al [ 39 ] found no significant effect of different forage proportions in TMR on meat color of Hanwoo sirloins. In contrast, Kang et al [ 40 ] found a significant increase in a* and a trend toward an increase in L* and b* in the longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle of Hanwoo steers fed high-energy diets compared with the group fed a basal diet. The explanation for the improvement in meat color by feeding a high-energy diet could be influenced by muscle metabolism, intramuscular fat, and muscle fiber properties [ 40 , 41 ].…”

“…The explanation for the improvement in meat color by feeding a high-energy diet could be influenced by muscle metabolism, intramuscular fat, and muscle fiber properties [ 40 , 41 ]. In the current study, meat color was not affected by energy intake, possibly due to differences in breed, feeding, timing of meat color measurement, or sampling, because color in the current study was measured on chilled meat two days post-mortem, whereas in Kang et al [ 40 ] it was measured after thawing of muscle samples.…”

“…However, the difference in energy intake did not affect fatty acid composition in the present study, possibly due to the limited nutrient utilization of NTC, as shown by the lack of difference in average daily gain and weight gain when comparing the different energy intakes, as mentioned in the report by [ 31 ]. Kang et al [ 40 ] found that most fatty acid compositions did not show significant differences between the different energy diets, except for stearic acid, which was higher in the LD muscles of Hanwoo steers fed high-energy diets. The fatty acid composition may vary among studies depending on cattle breed, diet, sex, and age.…”

— Invited Review — Factors affecting beef quality and nutrigenomics of intramuscular adipose tissue deposition

“…Providing propionate for glucose synthesis via gluconeogenesis may also contribute to triglycerol synthesis. Therefore, large proportions of concentrates or grain are routinely included in the diet when fattening beef cattle [66][67][68][69]. Supplementing the finishing diet with 100 ppm γ-aminobutyric acid was found to improve antioxidant enzyme status in the longissimus lumborum of Korean cattle steers [70].…”