• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.35 no.8
• /
• pp.1258-1269
• /
• 2022

Objective: For improving meat quality especially tenderness, male cattle are usually castrated to removes both the testicles. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect castration method (half- and complete-castration) on meat yield and quality characteristics of Hanwoo male cattle. Methods: Thirty-two similar age (5.9 months) Hanwoo male calves were divided into: half-castration (HC) and complete-castration (CC) groups (n = 16 per group). At 7 months of age, all the animals were castrated in which the HC calves had only one testicle surgically removed while, the CC calves had both testicles surgically removed. The castrated animals were reared under identical conditions until 25 months of age. After slaughter, the carcasses were evaluated for carcass traits and meat yield of primal cuts. For examination of the castration effect on meat quality, L. lumborum and semimembranosus muscles were used. The meat samples were analyzed for chemical composition, color, pH, shear force and water holding capacity, fatty acids, metabolites and volatile aroma compounds. Results: The HC group showed higher meat yields of all primal cuts (p<0.05). As a result, the total meat yield was higher by approximately 44 kg in the HC group (303.32 kg, corresponding to 67.88%) compared to the CC group (259.30 kg, corresponding to 62.11%) (p<0.05). In terms of meat quality, the HC resulted in two times greater fat content in both muscles examined compared to intact males. More importantly, the shear force values did not differ between HC and CC groups for L. lumborum muscles (p>0.05). The meat from HC animals exhibited higher amount of free amino acids associated with sweetness (p<0.05). Furthermore, the castration method only exhibited a negligible effect on metabolites and volatile aroma compounds in the cooked meat. Conclusion: Half-castration emerged as an alternative practice to be used for increasing the yield and tenderness of male cattle meat.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.8 no.6
• /
• pp.617-625
• /
• 1995

Distribution of wholesale carcass cuts and tissues was studied in Omani Dhofari bulls and steers raised under intensive management and slaughtered over a range of 110 to 210 kg body weight. The fore quarter of Dhofari cattle carcasses was heavier than the hind quarter with the chuck being the heaviest cut in the half carcass followed by the round whereas the flank was the lightest cut. Proportions of the fore quarter and its cuts increased whereas that of the hind quarter and its cuts decreased with increasing carcass weight. The fore quarter contained higher proportions of carcass tissues especially intermuscular fat than the hind quarter. The chuck and round contained the highest proportions of lean and bone and the flank the least. There was a general trend of increasing proportions of fat and decreasing proportions of lean and bone in carcass cuts and fore and hind quarters with increasing slaughter weight and age. As % total body fat (TBF), total carcass fat (TCF) increased whereas total non-carcass fat (TNCF) decreased. The largest proportion of TBF was deposited in the intermuscular site. Among the TNCF depots, the kidney and omental contributed the highest proportions whereas the pelvic and channel were the lowest. Proportions of M. rhomboideus and M. splenius increased in the half carcass whereas that of M. semitendinosus decreased as the cattle increased in size. The axial skeleton contributed 47.4-51.1, the fore limb 21.6-22.6 and the hind limb 23.9-26.2% of the total carcass bone. Proportions of axial skeleton increased whereas that of fore and hind limbs decreased with increasing slaughter weight and age. There were no major effects of castration on the distribution of weight of carcass cuts or carcass tissues. Steers had higher total body fat at 160 kg body weight and higher proportions of mesenteric, scrotal, pelvic, kidney and total non-carcass fat at 210 kg weight than bulls. As % of total body fat, steers fad significantly higher kidney and total non-carcass fat. There was little effects of castration on proportions of dimensions of individual muscles or bones.