Resumo

UZCATEGUI-BRACHO, Soján; JEREZ-TIMAURE, Nancy  e  RUIZ, Ana Zuley. Overfeeding Effects on Beef Carcass Traits and  Postmortem Degradation of Vinculin and Troponin-T in Dual Purpose Steers. Rev. Fac. Cienc. Vet. [online]. 2009, vol.50, n.2, pp.229-234. ISSN 0258-6576.

The effect of overfeeding on carcass characteristics and on degradation of vinculin and troponin-T at three different postmortem times (0, 24, and 48 h) were evaluated in dual purpose steers. A total of 10 steers, 21 months of age was used. The animals were randomly selected and allocated to two different treatment protocols for 12 months, as follows: Treatment 1 (T1): Five steers (Control Group) fed with a diet consistent of hay (Cynodon nlemfuensis) plus concentrate, with a hay/concentrate ratio of 80:20, to reach a daily weight gain (DWG) of 100 g/d; Treatment 2 (T2); five steers fed with hay (Cynodon nlemfuensis) plus concentrate with a hay/concentrate ratio of 60:40, to obtain a DWG of 500 g/d. Carcasses were assessed for both qualitative and quantitative characteristics at 24 h postmortem. To evaluate the degradation of vinculin and troponin-T at three different times (0, 24, and 48 h postmortem), 0.5 g of the longissimus dorsi muscle was collected from each half carcass and subjected to a Western blot analysis. Samples were analyzed by ANOVA. The analysis included the weight of the animals as a covariance. The results of the present investigation indicate that the carcasses of overfed steers exhibited better carcass traits, showing larger loin eye areas, back fat thickness, and a skeletal maturity (P≤0.05), without reaching adequate levels of fat finish. It was also observed that overfeeding did not change the pattern of degradation of vinculin and troponin-T at any postmortem time. Vinculin showed degradation at 24 h postmortem while troponin-T was not degraded. These results must be confirmed using a greater number of animals and a quantitative evaluation of protein expression.

Palavras-chave : Cattle; overfeeding; carcasse; muscle fibres; proteolysis; meat texture.

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