Effect of Dietary Lysophospholipid (LIPIDOLTM) Supplementation on the Improvement of Forage Usage and Growth Performance in Hanwoo Heifer

The present study investigated the effects of Lysophospholipid (LPLs, LIPIDOL$^{TM}$) on the growth performance and nutrient digestibility of Hanwoo heifers. A feeding trial was performed for 120 days until slaughter using a herd of 24 Hanwoo heifers. Eight heifers were assigned to each of 3 experimental groups (control, 0.3% LIPIDOL$^{TM}$ and 0.5% LIPIDOL$^{TM}$). Growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and carcass characteristics were investigated. Significantly improved nutrient digestibility was found in the LIPIDOL$^{TM}$ treatment group compared to the control (p<0.05). No significant effect by LIPIDOL$^{TM}$ supplementation on growth performance was observed (p>0.05). However, interestingly, greater carcass weight was detected in the treatment of LIPIDOL$^{TM}$ where less daily gain was found. Although not a significant effect, greatly decreased back-fat thickness and increased loin area were detected in the treatment of LIPIDOL$^{TM}$. In meat characteristics, LIPIDOL$^{TM}$ increased intramuscular fat and tenderness. Therefore, the present study results suggest that the inclusion of LIPIDOL$^{TM}$ in the diet of Hanwoo heifers can improve carcass performance and meat quality by increasing the carcass index and the meat quality index. The results also suggest that a level of 0.3% might be more efficient than 0.5% with regard to economic effectiveness.