Effects of surgical and immunocastration of beef cattle on meat colour, post‐mortem glycolytic metabolites and fibre type distribution

Abstract

A B S T R A C TMale cattle were emasculated by total castration, vasectomy or immunocastration and one group was leji entire. The effects of the treatments on meat quality related parameters were examined. Dark cutting beef was undetected in the steers and occurred at only very low levels in the other male types. Steers had histochemical projiles significantly different from those of the other male types, Total castration seems to produce more profound physiological changes than vasectomy and immunocastration. and sire effects on carcass traits, meat palatability and muscle fibre characteristics in Angus cattle. J h i m Sci 59 981-990. Price M A, Tennessen T 1981 Pre-slaughter management and dark-cutting in the carcasses of young bulls. Can J Anim Sci 61 205-208. Price M A, Makarechian M, Tennessen T, Mathison G W 1983 The effects of zeranol on the feed lot performance of beef bulls. Can J h i m Sci 63 803-809. Rhodes D N (ed) 1969 Meat Production @om Entire Male Animals. Churchill, London, p 197. Robertson I S, Fraser H M, Innes G M, Jones A S 1982 Effect of immunological castration on Seideman S C, Cross H R, Oltjen R R, Schanbacher B D 1982 Utilization of the intact male Seideman S C, Crouse J D, Cross H R 1986 The effect of sex condition and growth implants Stewart M R, Zipser M W, Watts B M 1965 The use of reflectance spectrophotometry for the Talmant A, Monjn G, Briand M, Dadet M, Briand Y 1986 Activities of metabolic and Young 0 A, Foote D M 1984 Further studies on bovine muscle composition. Meat Sci 11 sexual and production characteristics in male cattle. Vet Rec 111 529-531. for red meat production: a review. J h i m Sci 55 826-840. on bovine muscle fibre characteristics. Meat Sci 17 79-95. assay of raw meat pigments. J Food Sci 30 464469. contractile enzymes in 18 bovine muscles. Meat Sci 18 2340. 159-170.