Carcass and meat characteristics of Nellore young bulls fed diet using cottonseed cake as a replacer of the forage fiber source

• Published in: Scientific reports 2024-04, Vol.14 (1), p.8027-8027, Article 8027
• Main Authors: Arcanjo, Angelo Herbet Moreira, Ítavo, Luís Carlos Vinhas, Brandão Ferreira Ítavo, Camila Celeste, de Bonin Gomes, Marina Nadai, Nazário, Carlos Eduardo Domingues, Gurgel, Antonio Leandro Chaves, Dias-Silva, Tairon Pannunzio, Santana, Juliana Caroline Santos, da Silva, Manoel Gustavo Paranhos, de Aguiar Coelho, Flávio, Miranda, Estevão Lopes, de Melo Soares, Évelyn Silva, da Silva, Ana Hellen, da Silva, Laura Beatriz Perez, Paro, Rafael Goes Cardoso
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 631/601; 631/601/1737; 631/601/18; Animal Feed - analysis; Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Animals; Carcasses; Cattle; Corn silage; Cottonseed Oil; Diet; Diet - veterinary; Dry matter; Fatty acids; Forage; Humanities and Social Sciences; Male; Meat; Meat - analysis; multidisciplinary; Polyunsaturated fatty acids; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Zea mays
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58738-9

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of substituting traditional forage fiber sources with cottonseed cake in the diet on both the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of carcass and meat in Nelore young bulls. Twenty-four Nelore steers starting with an average weight of 377.8 ± 43.5 kg, were individually housed in stalls and provided with individualized feeding over a 112-day confinement period. The study followed a completely randomized design with two treatments and 12 replications. The diets incorporated either whole plant corn silage (WPCS) and, cottonseed cake (CSC) as fiber sources, at a rate of 300 g/kg of dry matter. The CSC diet promoted higher carcass weight. Aging animal meat for seven days significantly decreased the shear force from 83.4 to 71.6 N. Although diets did not influence meat composition, WPCS diet provided higher concentrations of C16:1, C18:1n9c, C18:3n3, and C22:2 acid, and CSC diet higher concentrations of C15:0, C18:1n9t, C18:2n6c, and 20:3n3. The WPCS diet provided higher concentrations of monounsaturated fatty acids and ω9, and the CSC diet had higher concentrations of ω6 and ω6:ω3 ratio in meat. Cottonseed cake used as a fiber source increases the concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids and ω6 fatty acids in the meat of young bulls finished in feedlot.