Lipid stability and meat colour of beef from pasture- and grain-fed cattle with or without vitamin E supplement

• Published in: Meat science Vol. 60; no. 1; pp. 41 - 50
• Main Authors: Yang, A, Lanari, M.C, Brewster, M, Tume, R.K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 2002; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animal productions; Biological and medical sciences; Food industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Lipid oxidation; Meat and meat product industries; Meat colour; Pasture- and grain-fed beef; Sorghum; Terrestrial animal productions; Vertebrates; Vitamin E supplementation; Pasture- and grain-fed beef; Sorghum; Vitamin E supplementation; Meat colour; Lipid oxidation; Farming animal; Stability; Animal feeding; Color; Meat product; Lipids; E-Vitamins; Grazing; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Diet; Quality; Beef cattle; Cereal; Artiodactyla; Sorghum (food); Supplementation; Beef; Ungulata
• ISSN: 0309-1740; 1873-4138
• DOI: 10.1016/S0309-1740(01)00103-6

Meat from pasture-fed cattle can have high contents of α-tocopherol and other anti-oxidants originating from naturally occurring compounds present in grasses. However, meat from pasture-fed cattle may have an increased demand for endogenous anti-oxidants because of its high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which in turn, may affect its colour and lipid stability. In the work described, we evaluated the effects of pasture-feeding alone and with vitamin E supplementation and compared the findings with those obtained for grain-fed cattle (predominantly sorghum) with and without supplementation. Within each nutritional background, vitamin E supplementation did not alter meat colour or colour stability of fresh or 47-day aged muscle during 7-day aerobic storage. However, both control and supplemented grain-fed product had better meat colour (more redness) compared with meat from grass-fed cattle. These differences in redness between pasture- and grain-fed fresh beef were not apparent after ageing. The treatments did not affect the lipid stability of fresh meat during aerobic storage; however, supplementation reduced ( P<0.01) lipid oxidation in grain-fed aged beef compared with pasture-fed aged beef, despite both having similar α-tocopherol contents. Pasture-fed beef had more linolenic acid, less linoleic acid and, overall, was more polyunsaturated than grain-fed beef ( P<0.05). In summary, vitamin E supplementation of pasture-fed cattle did not alter muscle tocopherol contents but pasture-fed beef (both control and supplemented) was more susceptible to lipid oxidation following ageing than vitamin E supplemented grain-fed beef.