The relationship between oxidative stress and meat tenderness

• Grant number: 18/22392-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 15, 2019
• End date: March 28, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: Danilo Domingues Millen
• Grantee: Luana Doretto Felizari
• Supervisor: Chris R. Calkins
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Tecnológicas. Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Dracena. Dracena , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 18/07588-7 - Microscopic variables of rumen epithelium of feedlot Nellore cattle submitted to different nutritional strategies using sodium monensin and virginiamycin, BP.IC

Abstract

The objectives of this project will be as follows: 1) Evaluate tenderness and aging effects in carcasses from sheep given different levels of a lipopolysaccharide immune challenge, 2) Quantify protein and lipid oxidation and relate to degree of oxidative stress in meat, and 3) Determine the effect of oxidative stress on muscle proteolysis. It will be used 36 lambs (<10 months old) and randomly assigned to three in-vivo treatments: (a) injection of saline (control), (b) daily subcutaneous (s.c.) injection of lipopolysaccharide at 1.5 mg/kg or (c) 3 mg/kg of body weight, respectively. Lambs will be fed for 30 days on a standard finishing diet, with injections given the last 9 days of the finishing stage. The following variables will be measured in this study: shear force (WBSF), discoloration at 0 and 7 days retail display, and lab analysis. Lab samples will be used to analyze pH, sarcomere length, TBARS, proteolysis, mitochondria content, calcium, fatty acid profile, and oxidative stress factors. Data will be analyzed by PROC MIXED of SAS (2003). (AU)