Orange essential oil as a feed additive for beef cattle receiving diets containing high inclusion of by-product from the corn ethanol agroindustry: carcass parameters and meat lipid profile

• Grant number: 25/16387-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2025
• End date: October 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: Daniel Montanher Polizel
• Grantee: Mateus Caparroz Bessão
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia (FEIS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Ilha Solteira. Ilha Solteira , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 23/09938-3 - Orange essential oil as additive for feedlot beef cattle, AP.R

Abstract

The search for alternative feed additives to replace antibiotics has been a consistent focus of recent research, with certain essential oils showing considerable potential as modulators of ruminal fermentation and, consequently, as enhancers of animal production efficiency. This study will involve 36 Guzerá steers with an initial average body weight of approximately 350 kg, allocated in a randomized complete block design over a 120-day experimental period, including a 15-day adaptation phase to high-concentrate diets followed by 105 days of feeding the final diets. The treatments will consist of two groups: Control, receiving a diet composed of 88% concentrate with a high inclusion of by-products from the corn ethanol industry and no additives; and OEO, receiving the same diet supplemented with 1,000 mg of orange essential oil. Feed intake and refusals will be measured daily, and at the end of the feedlot period, animals will be slaughtered at a commercial abattoir. Post-slaughter, carcass traits will be evaluated, including hot carcass weight, carcass yield, longissimus muscle area, subcutaneous fat thickness, and marbling score, and a sample of the Longissimus dorsi muscle will be collected for lipid profile analysis. Data will be analyzed using SAS software (version 9.4), with residual normality and outlier detection assessed using studentized residuals (r-student), and statistical significance considered at P ¿ 0.05.