Elsevier

Meat Science

Volume 94, Issue 2, June 2013, Pages 208-214
Meat Science

Effect of whole linseed and rumen-protected conjugated linoleic acid enriched diets on feedlot performance, carcass characteristics, and adipose tissue development in young Holstein bulls

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2013.01.015Get rights and content

Abstract

Forty-eight young Holstein bulls (slaughtered at 458.6 ± 9.79 kg body weight) were used to evaluate the effect of whole linseed and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) supplementation on animal performance, adipose tissue development, and carcass characteristics. The animals were fed with one of four isoenergetic and isoproteic diets: control (0% linseed, 0% CLA), linseed (10% linseed, 0% CLA), CLA (0% linseed, 2% CLA), and linseed plus CLA (10% linseed, 2% CLA). Animal performance and carcass characteristics were unaffected by diet composition. Adding linseed or CLA to the concentrate diet did not result in significant differences in adipocyte size and number or lipogenic enzyme activity. However, while the frequency distribution of subcutaneous adipocyte diameters followed a normal distribution, the frequency distribution of intramuscular adipocyte diameters was not normal in any dietary group (skewness coefficients: 0.8, 1.2, 0.9, 0.8 for control, linseed, CLA, and linseed plus CLA, respectively; P < 0.05), indicative of adipocyte proliferation in the intramuscular adipose tissue.

Highlights

► Isoenergetic diets with CLA and/or linseed were tested for fattening young bulls. ► Carcass characteristics were unaffected by diet. ► The intramuscular adipocyte diameter distribution was indicative of hyperplasia. ► Adipose enzyme activity was not influenced by CLA or linseed diets. ► Similar adipose enzyme activity gave rise to similar meat marbling.

Introduction

Beef is perceived by many consumers as a meat rich in saturated lipids and poor for health (Ferguson, 2010), which has favored research on altering the fatty acid profile through dietary means in order to match nutritional recommendations more closely. Meat contributes 10–20% of total calories in the diet in industrialized countries, and meat from ruminants is well documented to be high in saturated fatty acids, with a content of up to 50% (Chizzolini, Zanardi, Dorigoni, & Ghidini, 1999). Omega-3 (n  3) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) fatty acids play an important role in human health, and a low polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acid ratio and a high n  6 to n  3 ratio in meat contribute to unbalanced fatty acid intake by consumers. The low polyunsaturated to unsaturated fatty acid ratio in typical western diets is considered the main risk factor for developing cardiovascular diseases, the main cause of mortality in industrialized countries (Ganji, Kamanna, & Kashyap, 2003). Western diets also have a high n  6 to n  3 ratio (15–17:1), that promotes the development of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and inflammatory and immune diseases (Simopoulos, 2002). The fatty acid profile of beef intramuscular fat can be altered by including ingredients rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids in the fattening diets administered to the animals (Wood et al., 2004). Different polyunsaturated fatty acid-rich ingredients are being tested for this purpose, though biohydrogenation of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the rumen and liver metabolism limits their availability for metabolization and their accumulation in the fat depots (Gruffat, Gobert, Durand, & Bauchart, 2011). Linseed is a ready, natural source of α-linolenic fatty acid, and its seed coat may afford polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) some protection against rumen biohydrogenation and thus increase the passage of PUFAs into the duodenum. It is also a precursor of eicosanoids, which play an important antithrombotic and anti-inflammatory role (Palmquist, 2009). Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) comprises a group of isomers of linoleic acid having a number of biological activities. The cis-9, trans-11 isomer appears to be active in inhibiting carcinogenesis in animal models (Pariza, Park, & Cook, 2001), whereas the trans-10, cis-12 isomer affects lipid metabolism (Pariza, 2004). Dietary CLA has been reported to reduce body fat in several species (Azain, 2003, Ostrowska et al., 1999). In pigs, CLA reduces backfat and increases marbling (Barnes, Winslow, Shelton, Hlusko, & Azain, 2012). In cattle, the effect of the trans-10, cis-12 isomer on the amount of fat deposited in the various depots remains unclear (Schiavon et al., 2011). The effect of the intake of polyunsaturated fatty acid-rich ingredients such as linseed and CLA on adipocyte hypertrophy and hyperplasia and on the activity of lipogenic enzymes is not precisely understood. Similarly, data on growth rate and feed efficiency for different species are conflicting (Belury, 2002, Chin et al., 1992, Thiel-Cooper et al., 2001). Thus, the object of this study was to examine the effects of feeding a concentrate diet including whole linseed, rich in n  3 fatty acids, and/or protected conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on performance and adipose tissue development and metabolism in young Holstein bulls.

Section snippets

Animals and feeding

Forty-eight Holstein entire males were divided into four groups of twelve calves each, fed at the CITA experimental farm in Aragón (Spain). Each group of animals was fattened using one of four concentrate diets over a period of 123 days ± 11.2 days. The ingredients and chemical composition of the experimental diets are shown in Table 1. All four diets were formulated to be isoenergetic and isoproteic and had similar ether extract (7%) and starch (35%) contents, but differing in the percentage of

Performance

The mean initial weight of the young bulls was 239.8 ± 22.12 kg (Table 2). As slaughter weight had been set at 450 kg, there were no statistical differences in final weight between the groups, which varied from 450.5 kg LW (control group) to 468.8 kg (L + CLA group). Animal mean age at slaughter was about 11 months and beef was classified as category Z (from animals aged more than 8 months but no more than 12 months) with sales description: beef (EC, 2007).

Average daily gain of the animals was high for

Conclusions

Supplementation of an isoenergetic and isoproteic concentrate diet with 10% whole linseed and/or 2% rumen-protected CLA did not result in significant differences in animal performance, carcass characteristics, or adipose tissue development in young Holstein bulls during fattening.

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agroalimentarias [National Institute of Agrifood Research] (INIA project RTA2009-00004-CO2).

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