Twenty-seven animals (½ Angus - ½ Nellore) were fed for four months with one of the following diets: without addition of essential oils (E0.0), with 3.5 (E3.5) or 7 (E7.0) g/animal/day of an essential oil blend (oregano, garlic, lemon, rosemary, thyme, eucalyptus and sweet orange). Chemical composition, fatty acid profile and meat color were evaluated in Longissimus muscle. In addition, the effects of aging (one, seven and 14days) on the meat water holding capacity, texture and lipid oxidation were evaluated. Essential oils had no effect on chemical and fatty acid composition, meat color, water holding capacity or texture, but an inclusion of 3.5g/day decreased lipid oxidation. The addition of 7.0g/animal/day had a pro-oxidant effect on meat during aging and resulted in higher values for lipid oxidation at 14days of aging. Aging significantly affected thawing losses and texture. A dose of 3.5g/animal/day could be recommended in feedlot animals, but greater doses could have a pro-oxidant effect.
The effect of corn substitution by glycerine and essential oils on animal performance, apparent digestibility and red and white blood cells of crossbred bulls finished in feedlot was evaluated. Thirty bulls with average weight of 311±28.8 kg and 22±2 month-old were allocated in three diets: CON (without glycerine or essential oils), GLY (with glycerine) and GEO (with glycerine and essential oils). The bulls were fed a diet of sorghum silage, cracked corn, soybean meal, urea, limestone and mineral salt. Three grams of cashew and castor oil/animal/day were included in GEO diet. Animals were kept in feedlot for 115 days and slaughtered at average weight of 467±40.6 kg. No differences (P<0.05) among diets regarding final body weight, average daily gain and feed conversion were reported. Ether extract intake was higher (P<0.05) in CON diet compared to the others. Dry matter, organic matter and crude protein digestibility was higher (P<0.05) in GLY diet compared to CON. Acid detergent fibre digestibility was higher (P<0.05) in CON compared to GLY diet. Nonfibrous carbohydrate, fibrous carbohydrate and ether extract digestibility were similar (P>0.05) among diets. No effect of glycerine and essential oil addition on total blood cholesterol, triglycerides, haemogram, leukogram and plasmatic proteins was observed. Corn replacement by glycerine and essential oils addition did not affect (P>0.05) carcass weight, dressing and conformation, carcass length and cushion thickness.
Essential oils are natural extracts from plants which can be included in cattle diets as an alternative to additives, such as ionophores, to improve the shelf life of meat. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sensory acceptability of meat from 57 crossbred (1/2 Angus–1/2 Nellore) animals of different sexes [heifers n = 30, and young bulls n = 27], finished in feedlot with isoenergetic and isonitrogenous diets, which differed in the level of supplementation (0.0, 3.5 or 7.0 g/animal/day) with a commercial mix of essential oils (Mixoil®) from seven plants: oregano, garlic, lemon, rosemary, thyme, eucalyptus and sweet orange. The Longissimus thoracis muscle, aged for 24 h, was evaluated by 120 consumers who scored tenderness acceptability, flavour acceptability and overall acceptability using a hedonic 9-point scale. The inclusion of essential oils affected tenderness acceptability and flavour acceptability (P ≤ 0.01), with a tendency (P < 0.10) for overall acceptability. Meat from heifers was more appreciated by consumers than that from young bulls in all attributes (P ≤ 0.001), however, different groups of consumers had different preferences. The inclusion of a mix of essential oils in beef diets was well accepted by consumers, and could improve the acceptability of meat from young bulls, when is added at a concentration of 3.5 g/animal/day during the last 4 months of fattening.
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