Carcass and meat quality of Thai native cattle fattened on Guinea grass (Panicum maxima) or Guinea grass-legume (Stylosanthes guianensis) pastures

• Main Authors: S. Jaturasitha, R. Norkeaw, T. Vearasilp, M. Wicke, M. Kreuzer
• Format: Journal
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Agricultural and Biological Sciences
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=53549110498&origin=inward; http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/jspui/handle/6653943832/48822
• Institution: Chiang Mai University

Carcass and meat quality of Thai native cattle, fattened for 2 years on Guinea grass (Panicum maxima) and Guinea grass-legume (Stylosanthes guianensis) pastures, were investigated in twelve 3-years old males. Groups had similar carcass quality except for kidney fat percentage (higher in cattle of the grass-legume group). This group also had a lighter meat (Longissimus dorsi, Infraspinatus) than the grass-only fed cattle. Shear force was generally at the borderline to tender meat, and was unaffected by treatment as were other texture-related properties except muscle fibre diameter. Meat of the grass-legume group was perceived less juicy (P < 0.05) but more tender (P < 0.1). The meat of the grass-legume-fed cattle also had more intramuscular fat (4.3% vs. 3.4%) and a slightly less favourable n-6:n-3 fatty acid ratio (2.2 vs. 2.0). In conclusion, the mostly weak differences in carcass and meat quality did not clearly favour one of the grazing systems. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.