Influence of stall finishing of Podolian young bulls raised on pasture on fatty acid composition and oxidative status of meat

• Main Authors: Manuel Scerra, Francesco Foti, Caterina Cilione, Luigi Chies, Vincenzo Scerra, Pasquale Caparra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2014-11-01
• Series: Italian Journal of Animal Science
• Subjects: Meat quality, Lipid oxidation, Pasture, Fatty acids, Bulls
• Online Access: http://www.aspajournal.it/index.php/ijas/article/view/3432
• ISSN: 1594-4077; 1828-051X

Sixteen Podolian young bulls were used to study the effects of two different feeding systems on fatty acids composition and oxidative stability of meat: C group, eight young bulls were kept indoors and fed with commercial concentrate for all experimental period (260 days); PC group, eight young bulls were allowed to graze a pasture for 200 days and shifted indoor, fed with concentrate, 60 days before being slaughtered. Meat from young bulls that were allowed, before stall finishing with concentrate, to graze a natural pasture showed lower levels of some <em>n-6</em> PUFA and higher levels of some <em>n-3</em> PUFA than meat from animals that were offered only concentrate for the whole experimental period. Lipid oxidation was not affected by the dietary treatment. After a period of 60-day-indoor finishing with concentrate, meat retained part of the health benefits, with regard to fatty acid composition, occurring from grazing.