Effect of breed and sex on carcass traits, meat quality and fatty acid composition of young cattle formed based on animal protein production and qualified meat in plateau condition

Abstract

Abstract. This study was fictionalized as a prototype for other studies. The effects of breed and sex on the slaughter characteristics, carcass traits, meat quality and fatty acid composition of young animals, which were formed based on the enteric emission (CH4) level and animal protein production potential of different geographical regions were investigated. The region where the study was conducted consists of plateaus, and 13.7 % of the population lives in this area. A total of 36 animals, consisting of six males and six females from each of the Brown Swiss × Eastern Anatolian Red (BSEAR), Holstein Friesian × Eastern Anatolian Red (HFEAR) and Brown Swiss × Holstein Friesian (BSHF) genotypes, were used to investigate animal protein production in this study. They were dispatched to be slaughtered at the age of 20 months. The data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA), and differences between groups were compared with the Duncan test. Enteric CH4 estimated among regions varied from 30.34 to 36.50 kg head−1 yr−1. It was 0.215, 0.194, 0.183, 0.195 and 0.198 kg, respectively, per kilogram of edible meat of BSEAR, HFEAR, BSHF, male cattle and female cattle. The results indicated that slaughter traits, carcass characteristics and carcass measurements (P<0.05 to P<0.01) were associated with breed. Slaughter traits, carcass characteristics and carcass measurements were affected by sex (P<0.05 to P<0.01). Breed and sex interaction had no effect on carcass characteristics in subgroups (P<0.05). DM, CP and ash were significantly affected by breed (P<0.05). pH and a∗ were also significantly affected by breed (P<0.05). Sex influenced pH (P<0.05), L∗ (P<0.001), a∗ (P<0.01) and b∗ (P<0.001). Monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) levels were found to be significant in different breeds (P<0.01), and PUFA levels were significant in different sexes (P<0.05).