Effects of a Mixture of Eugenol, Thymol and Malate on Growth Performance, Beef Quality and Liver Function in Hanwoo Finishing Steers Fed a High-Concentrate Diet

Thirty six Hanwoo steers (average BW, $564.5\;{\pm}\;25.7\;kg$; average age, approximately 23 months) were used to evaluate the effects of a mixture of eugenol (14%), thymol (1%) and malate (85%) on growth performance, beef quality and liver function in Hanwoo finishing steers fed a high-concentrate diet. A feeding trial was conducted for 7 months in National Agricultural Cooperative Federation farm located in Anseong, Korea. Steers were assigned randomly to one of three treatments: control (without additive supplementation), treatment 1 (0.05% additive of concentrate), treatment 2 (0.1% additive of concentrate). The results of this study showed that initial and final BW averaged 564 and 755 kg, respectively, and BW gain was significantly higher (P<0.05) for steers fed the additive mixture than for those fed no mixture (0.78 and 0.79 vs. 0.69 kg/d, respectively). Serum aspartate aminotransferase in the T2 treatment was decreased during the 24 to 31 months of age. Although supplementation of additives resulted in no substantial effect on carcass characteristics, it had a potential effect to improve feed efficiency and AST concentration in Hanwoo finishing steers fed a high-concentrate diet. In conclusion, a mixture of eugenol, thymol and malate has shown promise in improving feed efficiency and liver function in the finishing phase of Hanwoo steers.