Nutritional Characteristics and Active Components in Liver from Wagyu×Qinchuan Cattle

We investigated nutritional characteristics and active components in the liver of Wagyu${\times}$Qinchuan cattle and Qinchuan cattle produced in Shaanxi (China). We observed significant differences (p<0.05) in the proximate composition of protein, fat, carbohydrate, total energy, and glycogen. Wagyu${\times}$Qinchuan cattle liver showed higher (p<0.05) sodium, iron, zinc, and selenium concentrations than Qinchuan cattle liver. The amino acid composition of Wagyu${\times}$Qinchuan cattle liver was richer (p<0.05) in 13 types of amino acids, with the exception of Asp (10.06%), Val (5.86%), and Met (1.72%). Total essential amino acids accounted for almost half the composition (39.69%) in Wagyu${\times}$Qinchuan cattle liver. Wagyu${\times}$Qinchuan cattle liver had lower (p<0.05) levels of monounsaturated fatty acids (18.2%), but higher (p<0.05) levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (35.11%), compared with Qinchuan cattle liver (23.29% and 28.11%, respectively). The thrombogenic index was higher in Qinchuan cattle liver (0.86) than in Wagyu${\times}$Qinchuan cattle liver (0.70), and the glutathione (38.0 mg/100g) and L-carnitine (2.12 ${\mu}M/g$) content was higher (p<0.05) in Wagyu${\times}$Qinchuan cattle liver than in Qinchuan cattle liver (29.8 mg/100g and 1.41 ${\mu}M/g$, respectively). According to the results obtained, the liver of Wagyu${\times}$Qinchuan cattle, which is insufficiently used, should be increasingly utilized to improve its commercial value.