Growth, performance and quality attributes of steers supplemented with high oleic soybean oil

Abstract

Growing concerns with saturated fatty acids on human health has led to research being done to reduce saturated fatty acid levels in animal tissues. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of high oleic soybean oil on the performance, carcass composition and meat quaility of angus crossbred steers. 30 steers were sorted by weight using stratified sampling design into four pens, 2 being control and 2 being treatment. Control steers were fed a diet that included 3% regular soybean oil, while treatment steers were fed a diet with 3% high oleic soybean oil (HO). All animals were fed diets with soybean oil supplementation for a minimum of 63 days before harvest. After harvest, KPH weights and hot carcass weights were taken. Marbling score and longissimus dorsi area were assessed 48 hours after slaughter. Fat samples were taken from four different fat depots (subcutaneous, kidney, pelvic, heat (KPH), seam and intramuscular) and analyzed for fatty acids composition. PROC UNIVARIATE was ran and data more than three standard deviations from the mean was removed. Remaining data was analyzed using the PROC MIXED procedure of SAS 9.3. Greater DMI (P_0.01) was measured for cattle fed the HO diet and as a result DMI %BW was also significantly higher (P_0.01). However, the G:F was significantly less (P= 0.05) and the ending body weight had no difference.