Increasing glucose or glucose precursors to increase beef quality and juiciness

• Grant number: 14/23746-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: February 21, 2015
• End date: July 28, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Production
• Principal Investigator: Saulo da Luz e Silva
• Grantee: Anderson Roberto Cabral
• Supervisor: Stephen B. Smith
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Texas A&M University, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 13/24690-6 - Study of the lipid profile of burgers produced with beef from cattle fed different sources of oil in the diet, BP.MS

Abstract

Propiogenic diets (such as high-grain diets) promote greater marbling development than acetogenic diets. We predict that "glucogenic" diets, which provide more glucose for absorption from the small intestine, promote marbling development, hence juiciness, to a greater extent than propiogenic diets. Therefore, the objectives of this study are demonstrate that increasing the delivery of glucose or a gluconeogenic precursor (propionate) to the liver will promote marbling development and establish the relationship between marbling scores, fatty acid composition, and juiciness of beef. This experiment will test the hypothesis that absorption of equivalent amounts of acetate, propionate, and glucose will have differential effects on marbling development in growing steers. Specifically, increasing the duodenal absorption of glucose will more strongly promote marbling development, hence juiciness, than acetate or propionate. Also, we predict that effects of infusing propionate into the rumen will be intermediate between glucose and acetate. Angus crossbred steers (n = 24) will be backgrounded using a standard protocol. Moisture and fat content will be measured and fatty acid analysis, lipid composition, activities ATP-citrate lyase and NADP-malate dehydrogenase and adipocyte volume. Steaks will be subjected to sensory evaluation by an 8-member expert, descriptive attribute sensory panel and the data will be analyzed using the Mixed Model procedure (PROC MIXED) of SAS. (AU)