ABSTRACT: This study aimed to evaluate the quality traits and fatty acid profile of beef from Nellore and Angus bulls fed whole shelled corn (WSC) and ground corn plus maize silage (GC) diets. Eighteen Nellore and 18 Angus young bulls [381 ± 12 kg initial body weight (BW) and an average age of 20 ± 1.9 months] were used in a completely randomized design using a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement and were slaughtered at a final BW of 451.5 kg and 545.5 kg, respectively. Twenty–four hours after slaughter, samples of longissimus thoracis muscle were collected for the analysis of lipid oxidation, color, fatty acid profile, shear force, and cooking loss. There was no effect of diet × breed interaction on meat color, lipid oxidation, shear force, and cooking loss. Angus beef had lower shear force (p < 0.05) than Nellore beef and had a greater concentration of linoleic acid and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (p < 0.01). Beef of bulls fed WSC tended to have greater concentration of CLA C18:2c9t11 (p = 0.09), greater concentration of CLA C18:2t10c12 (p = 0.01), and PUFA (p = 0.05), and consequently, higher oxidation levels. Angus bulls produced beef with greater tenderness and PUFA concentration. The results of fatty acid show a possible change in biohydrogenation when animals are fed the WSC diet, reducing lipogenesis, as this diet increases the C18:2t10c12 content.

ABSTRACT We evaluated blood parameters of Angus and Nellore bulls fed diets with and without forage. Forty animals with initial body weight (BW) of 380±16.2 kg were housed in individual stalls. Eight bulls of each breed were fed a whole shelled corn (WSC) diet [850 g kg−1 of WCS and 150 g kg−1 of a pellet based on soybean meal, dry mater (DM) basis] or a ground corn with silage (GC) diet (300 g kg−1 of silage and 700 g kg−1 of a concentrate based on corn and soybean meal, DM basis), ad libitum, and four animals of each breed were limited-fed the GC diet [feed restriction (FR), 55% of the DM intake of bulls fed ad libitum, adjusted for the metabolic BW]. Intake was measured daily, and a metabolism trial was conducted with total collection of feces and urine to estimate the ruminally degraded and undegraded protein (intake and nitrogen balance). Blood samples for determination of hormones and metabolites were collected. The data were analyzed using the GLM procedure of SAS adopting a significance level of 0.05. The diet affected only the serum concentrations of triglycerides, HDL, and VLDL, with limited-fed animals presenting smaller concentrations than ad libitum-fed bulls. No difference in blood parameters was observed between animals fed WSC or GC diets. Nellore bulls presented greater T4, cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and serum urea nitrogen concentrations than Angus. Feeding finishing beef cattle with no-roughage diets does not alter their blood parameters. Also, our results support that Zebu cattle might have lower serum removal of nutrients due to a lesser demand for fat and protein deposition than Bos taurus taurus.

Objetivou-se avaliar a predição de consumo de matéria seca (CMS) pelos sistemas CNCPS 5.0, NRC e BR-CORTE, bem como o consumo de nutrientes por tourinhos zebuínos confinados. Foram utilizados 44 animais em delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado, sendo: 19 Nelore PO, 7 Nelore LA, 10 Tabapuã PO e 8 Guzerá PO, com peso vivo inicial médio de 394 ± 39; 348 ± 33; 346 ± 28 e 340 ± 30 kg, respectivamente, e idade inicial média de 13 meses. O período experimental foi de 84 dias. O consumo alimentar individual foi obtido com o uso dos indicadores LIPE®, óxido crômico e fibra em detergente ácido indigestível (FDAi). Para comparação do CMS predito pelos sistemas com o observado utilizou-se análise de regressão linear. Os animais Nelore LA apresentaram os menores valores observados para CMS (kg d-1). Ao avaliar o CMS em porcentagem do peso vivo (%PV) e em gramas por quilo de peso vivo metabólico (g kg-1 PM), foi detectada diferença entre os grupos genéticos, sendo que os maiores valores ocorreram para os animais Tabapuã PO e Guzerá PO. Os sistemas NRC, CNCPS 5.0 e o BR-CORTE apresentaram subpredição do CMS. Conclui-se que os sistemas estudados não se mostraram adequados para predizer o consumo de matéria seca em tourinhos zebuínos confinados.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the prediction of dry matter intake (DMI) using the CNCPS 5.0, NRC and BR-CUT systems, and of the nutrient intake of confined young Zebu bulls. A completely randomized experimental design of 44 animals as follows was used: 19 Nelore PO, 7 Nelore LA, 10 Tabapua PO e 8 Guzerat PO, with a mean initial live body weight of 394 ± 39, 348 ± 33, 346 ± 28 and 340 ± 30 kg respectively, and a mean initial age of 13 months. The length of the experiment was 84 days. Individual food consumption was calculated with the use of LIPE®, chromium oxide and indigestible acid detergent fiber (iADF) indicators. In order to compare the DMI as predicted by the systems to that observed, linear regression analysis was used. The Nellore LA group showed the lowest observed values for DMI (kg d-1). When assessing DMI as a percentage of live body weight (% BW) and in grams per kilogram of metabolic live weight (g kg-1 MW), a difference between genetic groups was found, with the highest values being observed for the Tabapua PO and Guzerat PO groups. The NRC, CNCPS 5.0 and BR-CUT systems under predicted the DMI. It can be concluded that the systems studied were not adequate for the prediction of the dry matter intake of confined young Zebu bulls.