Effect of Breed on the Level of the Nutritional and Health-Promoting Quality of Semimembranosus Muscle in Purebred and Crossbred Bulls

Abstract

Meat from commercial breed cattle are very often used to crossbreed with dairy breeds. The effect of heterosis is most evident when crossbreeds are genetically different from each other. Therefore, the aim of the study was to determine the influence of breed types on the nutritional and pro-health quality of beef. The experiment was conducted on 62 bulls from three breeds: Limousin, Polish Holstein-Friesian, and Polish Holstein-Friesian (PHF) × Limousin. During the fattening period, the animals were fed ad libitum using the same diet. Bulls were slaughtered at 21–23 months of age. The meat of PHF × Limousin hybrids was characterized by the lowest level of SFA and the highest content of n-3 PUFA fatty acids, carnosine, and α-tocopherol compared to the values obtained for the Polish Holstein-Friesian and Limousin breeds. In the case of PHF × Limousin hybrids, there was a 6% increase in n-3 PUFA, 21% in carnosine, and 66% in α-tocopherol compared to the Polish Holstein-Friesian breed. Commodity crossbreeding significantly improved the quality of beef analyzed in this study, resulting in similar or even better results than purebred cattle. This meant that beef from the hybrids with PHF was of the best nutritional and health-promoting quality.