Cottonseed and Soy-bean agro-industrial by-products used in feedlot cattle diet: effects on beef fatty acid profile and quality parameters

Abstract

Beef composition are directly influenced by the dietary fat, particularly in ruminants, due to rumen biohydrogenation, which promotes alterations in the dietary fatty acid (FA) profile and affects the meat quality. Beef sensorial, chemical, and FA compositions of intramuscular and subcutaneous fat were evaluated, from 40 Nellore males finished on feedlot diet based, containing cottonseed (CSB) and soybean by-product (SOB) as agro-industrial by-product fat sources. CSB as a fat source, did not alter the beef pH, shear force, chemical composition, or subcutaneous FA profile compared with the SOB diet. Differences were observed at yellow and red beef color, with low and high CSB diet inclusion; on the contrary, inclusion of SOB in the diet led to an intensely unpleasant aroma in aged and cooked meats. Regarding beef FA profile, CSB with 3% dietary fat produced steaks with a lower proportion of C 17:0 , having 1.359 and 3.238 g/100 g of intramuscular FA, whereas CSB with 5% dietary fat led to an increase in C 18:2 n -6 , with 0.298 and 0.132 g/100 g of intramuscular FA in steaks from animals fed with CSB and SOB, respectively. CSB produced more intense red beef color, unpleasant aroma, and higher linoleic acid content; however, the color and aroma of the meat produced from cattle fed with CSB in the diet were less intense and were like those observed in cattle fed with SOB; these could therefore be recommended for use as agro-industrial by-products in beef cattle diet.

Sensory characteristics and volatile compounds of beef in feedlots with cottonseed

“…For the other parameters analyzed, such as color, taste, tenderness, and overall impression, the tasters did not find any difference (P > 0.05) between meat from animals fed cottonseed and not (Table 1). There was no influence of cottonseed supplementation on color parameters indicated by the tasters; moreover, other authors have reported no negative influence of cottonseed or other byproducts used for feeding cattle on the sensorial attributes of beef (Eiras et al, 2017;Gomes et al, 2016;Polizel Neto et al, 2022). Despite the physicochemical analysis of the raw beef revealed a change in the objective meat color and pH (pH 24 h), there was an increase in the yellowness index (higher value of b*) and a decrease in pH, similar to the results reported by Esteves et al (2017).…”

“…In general, these results showed that the score of the sensory traits of beef could not be associated with the specific use of cottonseed in the feed of animals. Several authors have reported that the source of feed, which is rich in fat or lipids when it is used for fattening cattle in feedlots, tends to have a negative influence on the sensorial parameters of beef due to an increase in linoleic acid in the meat (Ferrinho et al, 2018;Polizel Neto et al, 2022). Thus, worse beef grades are more strongly associated with changes in meat quality in the production system than with the use of specific feedstuffs.…”

“…Fattening cattle in feedlot systems is a method used worldwide to achieve better performance and carcass characteristics in a short time. Despite these advantages, it is very important that the feed used in this system provides sufficient nutritional benefits, is low in cost, contributes to reducing foodfeed competition, and decreases the environmental impact of livestock (Esteves et al, 2017;Lima et al, 2016;Polizel Neto et al, 2022;Salami et al, 2019). In addition to these aspects, byproducts from cotton harvest have been used to feed cattle in feedlots in Brazil and worldwide in different ways, such as whole cottonseed, hulls, gin trash, and meal (Rogers et al, 2002).…”

“…The use of this byproduct has increased annually in Brazil, and although some farms have used whole cottonseed in feedlots for fattening cattle, others have avoided the use of this byproduct, fearing the appearance of a "strange flavor, " such as "liver" or other flavors, in beef. To answer this question, several authors have studied beef from cattle fed cottonseed at different levels or compared it to other feeds; however, the authors were not able to determine the influence of using this byproduct on the sensory traits of meat from fattening animals (Costa et al, 2013;Ferrinho et al, 2018;Polizel Neto et al, 2022).…”

“…Previously, studies have associated changes in beef flavor with an increase in linoleic acid in the meat to cattle fed in feedlots using different feedstuffs (Neethling et al, 2016). This difference could be attributed to the large number of derivative compounds produced from this fatty acid when the meat is heated and cooked (Elmore et al, 2004;Ferrinho et al, 2018;Polizel Neto et al, 2022).…”