Fatty acid profile, mineral content, and palatability of beef from a multibreed Angus-Brahman population

Consumers demand meat that is both healthy and palatable, 2 attributes of meat that are affected by lipid content. Many cattle in the southern United States are Bos indicus influenced, as this improves the ability to survive and thrive in these subtropical regions. However, these animals tend to have leaner carcasses and less marbled meat products. Thus, the objective of this study was to examine the effect of percent Brahman genetics on carcass characteristics, palatability, fatty acids profile, and minerals content in LM of steers from a multibreed population ranging from 100% Angus to 100% Brahman. Breed effect was significant for birth weight (P = 0.0003), weaning weight (P < 0.0001), HCW (P < 0.0001), dressing percentage (P = 0.0008), ribeye area (P = 0.002), quality grade (P < 0.0001), and marbling score (P < 0.0001), and all these traits except dressing percentage decreased as the percentage of Brahman increased. Among palatability traits, breed group had a significant effect only on tenderness (TEND) and connective tissue (CT) scores (P < 0.0001). Least squares means decreased from Angus (5.75 ± 0.13 TEND score and 6.29 ± 0.14 CT score, respectively) to Brahman (4.84 ± 0.10 TEND score and 5.49 ± 0.11 CT score, respectively) as indicated by a significant linear effect. Breed group significantly affected the percentage of several individual fatty acids, saturated fatty acids (SFA), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), but not monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA). The 100% Angus group had the highest percentage of SFA at 49.92%, which was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than the SFA percentage in the 50%, 75%, and 100% Brahman breed groups. Brangus animals also had an increased SFA percentage compared with the 100% Brahman animals (P < 0.05). No significant effect was identified for the concentration of PUFA across the 6 breed groups (P = 0.14). Least squares means decreased from 100% Angus to 100% Brahman for concentration of total fat, SFA, and MUFA (g/mg meat). The concentration of magnesium (P < 0.0001), phosphorus (P = 0.06), and potassium (P = 0.06) increased as the percentage of Brahman increased. Our study shows that breed has a significant effect on the fatty acid profile of beef. Cattle with high Brahman percentage, which are characterized by lower marbled meat, will present a more favorable healthfulness profile with reduced content of SFA and MUFA but the same content of PUFA as purebred Angus animals.