Effect of pasture and intensive feeding systems on the carcass and meat quality of buffalo

Abstract

Objective: This work was carried out to evaluate the effect of pasture (PA) feeding on buffalo meat quality compared with buffaloes reared intensively with the use of corn silage as a forage base or alternatively with polyphite meadow hay (PH).

Methods: Thirty Mediterranean bull buffaloes were distributed into three experimental diet groups: maize silage (MS), PH, and PA. The animals were slaughtered at a live weight of 250 kg, and carcass and meat quality were evaluated. After 7 days of ageing, physical and chemical parameters of longissimus thoracis muscle were determined. To evaluate lipid oxidation the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances was tested at 7 and 14 days, and also the fatty acid profile was recorded by gas chromatography.

Results: The PA group, even if it showed carcass parameters lower than those of the silage maize group, reported a good meat percentage (60.59% vs 58.46%, respectively) and lower fat percentage (p<0.001). PA-fed animals showed meat redness, and even if only on raw meat, shear force was higher than the others. Low values of conjugate linoleic acid, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and n-3 were reported in the silage maize group. Principal component analysis (PCA) clearly showed the influence of different diets on meat quality, and PCA1 and PCA2 explained 82% of the variability.

Conclusion: Buffaloes reared on PA had meat with high nutritional value even if they showed poor carcass performance compared to the animals fed on MS. Buffaloes fed on polyphite hay were in an intermediate position, similar to grazing animals, according to the same nutritional determinations.

Keywords: Buffalo; Feeding System; Grazing; Meat Quality.

Figure 1

Carcass subdivision into 11 anatomical regions, from the right half carcass, neck, fore shin, shoulder, brisket 1–6, brisket 7–13, flat ribs 1–6, plate ribs 7–13, loin, distal pelvic limb, proximal pelvic limb and abdominal region.

Figure 2

Scores on two principal components for meat samples produced from buffaloes fed with maize silage (MS), polyphite meadow hay (PH) and pasture (PA).

Figure 3

Principal component analysis (PCA) loading plot of the meat variables that absorbed the major variability on the first two PCs. MUFA, mono unsaturated fatty acid; SFA, saturated fatty acids; PUFA, poly unsaturated fatty acid, ARA, arachidonic acid; ALA, α-linolenic acid; AL, linoleic acid; EPA, eicosapentaenoic acid; DHA, docosahexaenoic acid; WBS, warner bratzel shear force; AI, atherogenic index; TI, thrombogenic index.