Effects of Ruminally Protected Amino Acid-enriched Fatty Acids on Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Fattening Hanwoo Cows

This study was conducted to determine the effects of ruminally protected amino acid-enriched fatty acids (RPAAFA) on body weight gain, feed intake and carcass characteristics of fattening Hanwoo cows. Twenty eight Hanwoo cows, $6.0{\pm}1.7$ years old and weighing an average of $463.2{\pm}77.6\;kg$, were used for 4 months. Animals were fed a basal diet supplemented with RPAAFA at 0 g (control) and 100 g (treatment), respectively. Average daily gain, dry matter intake and feed conversion ratio were not different among the control and treatment. The supplementation of RPAAFA did not affect carcass weight and rib eye areas. Quality grade score ($1^{++}$, $1^+$ and 1) for treatment was higher in RPAAFA supplemented group compared with the control, whereas no differences appeared in meat color, fat color, texture and maturity. Thus present results indicate that supplementation of RPAAFA may be recommended for producing high quality beef from fattening Hanwoo cows.