Carcass Characteristics and Meat Quality of Swamp Buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) Fattened at Different Feeding Intensities

Evaluation of Anatolian Water Buffalo Carcass Weights Based on a Slaughterhouse Data Collection

This study analyzed data collected on a slaughterhouse from 2017 to 2021, belonging to five hundred and twenty one Anatolian water buffalos from different farms located in Edirne, Istanbul, and Kirklareli. Specifically, it aimed to determine the factors affecting the carcass weights and slaughter ages of the Anatolian water buffalos. The results of the study showed that the slaughter age of the buffalos was a significant determinant of their carcass weights. Meanwhile, the sex, slaughter year, and slaughter season affected the carcass weight. Differences were observed for the slaughter age regarding the sex and farm origin. Since the pricing system in local markets is based on the buffalo carcass weight, the findings of this study could be essential for farmers when determining their fattening strategies.

Carcass characteristics, meat quality, and nutritional profiles of Mithun (Bos frontalis) meat reared under a semi-intensive system

The present study aimed to determine carcass characteristics, meat quality, nutrient profiles, and sensory characteristics of Mithun meat. Sixteen Mithun were selected and divided into four groups, MM-4 (male; n = 4; <4 years of age), MM-47 (male; n = 4; 4-7 years of age), MF-4 (female; n = 4; <4 years of age), MF-47 (female; n = 4; 4-7 years of age). Carcass characteristics showed that adult males (MM-47) have significantly higher (P < 0.05) live weight, carcass weight, and meat-to-bone ratio. Fat (%) was significantly higher (P < 0.05), and deboned meat (%) was lower in MF-4 and MF-47, while marginal differences were observed in bone (%), dressing percentage, and offal yield between groups. Visible marbling increased with age and varied from "slight" to "small" in all groups. Nutrient profiling revealed a significantly higher (P < 0.05) fat percentage and cholesterol in MF-4 and MF-47. Fatty acid profile, amino acid profile, water-soluble vitamins, and minerals content did not differ between groups. However, lysine and leucine (essential amino acids) and glutamic acid and aspartic acid (nonessential amino acids) were most abundant. Effect of age was significant (P < 0.05) on juiciness, tenderness, and connective tissue residue scores. In conclusion, results indicate mithun meat is nutrient-rich regardless of the animal's age or sex.

Leucoderma in Buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) in the Amazon Biome

Leucoderma is a condition that affects the skin and hair of animals, causing depigmentation and acromotrichia. In buffaloes, this condition results in significant economic losses for the production chain due to its impact on the leather trade. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiological and clinicopathological aspects of leucoderma in buffaloes in the Amazon biome and describe the prophylactic treatment to control the disease. The study included 40 buffaloes, 16 males and 24 females, aged between 1 and 10 years, and were of the Murrah, Jafarabadi, Mediterranean, and Murrah × Mediterranean crossbreed breeds. The animals were raised without mineral supplementation. The clinical signs observed in the animals included acromotrichia and depigmentation, with varying degrees and distribution of skin lesions. Histological examination of the epidermis showed interrupted melanin production, mild dermal fibrosis, mild perivascular mononuclear inflammatory infiltrate, and pigmentary incontinence. None of the animals had the genotype for albinism. After 120 days of mineral supplementation based on the use of copper sulfate, the clinical signs of leucoderma regressed. There was no predisposition by breed, sex, or age for the occurrence of the disease. The regression of skin lesions after proper mineral supplementation suggests that copper deficiency may be considered an important factor for the occurrence of leucoderma in buffaloes in the Amazon biome.

Buffalo long non-coding RNA gene11007 promotes myoblasts proliferation

Buffalo meat is of good quality because it is lean and tender, and could bring significant cardiovascular benefits. The underlying difference in muscle development and meat quality is a complex and precisely orchestrated process which has been demonstrated to be regulated by long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). However, the regulatory role of lncRNAs in the growth and development of buffalo skeletal muscle is still unclear. In this study, the Ribo-Zero RNA-Seq method was used to explore the lncRNA expression profiles of buffalo myoblasts during the proliferation and differentiation phases. A specific set of 9,978 lncRNAs was found. By comparing the expression profiles of lncRNAs, it was found that there were 1,576 differentially expressed lncRNAs (DELs) during buffalo myoblast differentiation. Twelve DELs were chosen and subsequently verified in eight different buffalo tissues during fetal and adult stages by using qPCR. Gene11007 was found to be one of the most down-regulated lncRNAs during buffalo myoblasts differentiation and it was subsequently characterized. EdU, CCK-8, qPCR and western blotting assays showed that gene11007 promoted the proliferation of buffalo myoblasts but it had no effect on cell differentiation. Our research may enrich the genome annotations of buffalo and provide a new molecular target for the in-depth understanding of the regulation of lncRNAs in skeletal muscle.

Influence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on the sensory perception and intention to purchase buffalo meat by consumers in Southeast Brazil

Abstract This study aimed to evaluate the effect of extrinsic factors (meat type, price, and nutritional claims) on purchase intention and the perception of intrinsic factors (tenderness, juiciness and flavor) in buffalo loin in a region of Brazil where the marketing of buffalo meat is not common. Photos of the steaks were treated and labels were designed to simulate the retail purchase process, with the effects of extrinsic factors being evaluated through conjoint analysis. Sensory tests of difference from control, purchase intention, and overall acceptance were performed for intrinsic factors. Regarding the purchase process, a determining factor was the price, with buffalo meat having a better purchase intention when associated with a lower price. The lowest price also proved to be more important than the presence of nutritional information for most respondents, however, nutritional information was necessary for consumers characterized over 50 years old. Good acceptance was perceived after tasting buffalo meat, even with less tenderness and juiciness compared to Nellore, and only a minority respondents were willing to pay more for it. The buffalo meat presents a potential option for the consumer, when offered in association with marketing strategies that emphasize nutritional and/or sensory information, such as tenderness and juiciness.

Effects of Bypass Fat on Buffalo Carcass Characteristics, Meat Nutrient Contents and Profitability

The deposition and distribution of buffalo body fats play a vital role in the quality of the buffalo carcass and are of great commercial value, since the carcass quality influences the profitability and consumer acceptability of ruminant meat. The current study examined the effect a mixture of 4% bypass fat and 26% concentrate supplementations in buffalo basal diet had on both the carcass characteristics and the proximate and fatty acid composition in longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL), supraspinatus (SS) and semitendinosus (ST) muscles of Murrah cross and swamp buffaloes. In addition, profit and loss analyses were performed to determine the profitability. This study employed a completely randomized 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with two diets, two breeds and four replicates per treatment. A total of sixteen buffaloes (eight buffaloes per breed, bodyweight 98.64 ± 1.93 kg) were randomly assigned into two dietary groups. The first group was given Diet A, which consisted of 70% Brachiaria decumbens + 30% concentrate, whereas the second group was given Diet B, which consisted of 70% Brachiaria decumbens + 26% concentrate + 4% bypass fat. The buffaloes were fed for 730 days before slaughter. The results showed that supplemented bypass fat significantly (p < 0.05) increased the pre-slaughter weight, hot and cold carcass weights, meat:fat ratio, pH at 24 h, moisture and crude protein of LTL, ST and SS, the ether extract of LTL and ST and the meat fatty acid of C16:0, C16:1, C18:1, PUFA n-6/n-3 and total MUFA. The carcass yield and carcass fat percentages, the ash content in ST, the EE in the SS muscle and the meat fatty acid of C18:3, total PUFA n-3, UFA/SFA and PUFA/SFA were significantly (p < 0.05) decreased. Furthermore, Murrah cross showed a significantly (p < 0.05) higher pre-slaughter weight, hot and cold carcass weights, carcass bone percentage and total fatty acid, but a lower (p < 0.05) meat:bone ratio, ash of LTL and CP of LTL and ST when compared to swamp buffaloes. No significant changes were found in the proximate composition of different types of muscle, but the ST muscle revealed significantly high C14:0, C16:0 and C18:1, and the SS muscle had high C18:2 and total fatty acid (p < 0.05). Supplementing using bypass fat increased the cost of buffalo feeding but resulted in a higher revenue and net profit. In conclusion, the concentrate and bypass fat supplementations in the buffalo diet could alter the nutrient compositions of buffalo meat without a detrimental effect on carcass characteristics, leading to a higher profit.

The Impact of Feed Supplementations on Asian Buffaloes: A Review

Simple Summary

Apart from feeding with forages, dietary supplementation with concentrate and rumen bypass fat is one of the feeding strategies to enhance nutrient availability and improve buffalo performance and productivity. This review paper thoroughly discussed the utilization of concentrate and bypass fat as dietary supplementation in buffalo feeding, and discussed the effects on performance, fermentation characteristics and general health of buffaloes to give better insight about the potential and challenges of dietary supplementation in buffalo diet. Based on the literature studies, it can be summarized that supplementation of concentrate and bypass fat in buffaloes may overcome the nutritional problems and improve the growth performance, health status, rumen environment and carcass traits.

Abstract

With the increase in the global buffalo herd, the use of supplementation in the ruminant feeding has become an important area for many researchers who are looking for an isocaloric and isonitrogenous diet to improve production parameters. In order to improve the performance of the Asian water buffalo, the optimal balance of all nutrients, including energy and protein, are important as macronutrients. Dietary supplementation is one of the alternatives to enhance the essential nutrient content in the buffalo diet and to improve the rumen metabolism of the animal. Researchers have found that supplementation of concentrate and rumen bypass fat could change growth performance and carcass traits without causing any adverse effects on the buffalo growth. Some studies showed that dry matter intake, body condition score and some blood parameters and hormones related to growth responded positively to concentrate and rumen bypass fat supplementation. In addition, changes of feeding management by adding the supplement to the ruminant basal diet helped to increase the profit of the local farmers due to the increased performance and productivity of the animals. Nevertheless, the effects of dietary supplementation on the performance of ruminants are inconsistent. Thus, its long-term effects on the health and productivity of buffaloes still need to be further investigated.

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

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.

The effect of different slaughter weights on some meat quality traits of musculus longissimus dorsi thoracis of male Anatolian buffaloes

This research was performed to examine the effects of different slaughter weights (SWs) on some meat quality traits of Anatolian Buffaloes (n = 20). Weaned 5-month-old Anatolian Buffalo calves with an average live weight of 100 kg were used as the animal material of the study. Experimental calves were randomly divided into four different slaughter weight groups 200 kg (SW-1: n = 5), 250 kg (SW-2: n = 5), 300 kg (SW-3: n = 5), and 350 kg (SW-4: n = 5). Anatolian buffalo calves were fed with 30:70 roughage/concentrate feed ration. Meat quality attributes of musculus longissimus dorsi thoracis (LT) muscle of calves slaughtered at target slaughter weight were investigated. The quality traits included 45th minute pH (pH_45min), 24th hour pH (pH_24h), 1st and 24th hour color parameters (L* (lightness), a* (redness) and b* (yellowness), water holding capacity (WHC), drip loss (3rd day (DL-3) and 7th day (DL-7)), freeze-thaw loss (FTL), cooking loss (CL), chemical composition), fatty acid, and cholesterol profiles. The differences in LT muscle pH_24h, 24th hour a* and b* color parameters and WHC values of SW groups were not found to be significant (P > 0.05). The lowest DL-3 was observed in SW-1 (6.89%) and the greatest in SW-2 (8.96%) groups. Ether extract (EE) ratios increased (P < 0.01) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)/saturated fatty acid (SFA) proportions decreased (P > 0.05) with increasing SWs. The differences in total cholesterol contents of SW groups were not detected to be significant (P > 0.05). Among the SW groups of Anatolian Buffaloes, SW-1 was found to be prominent with high WHC, CP, and PUFA/SFA ratio and the least DL-3 ratio.

Water holding capacity of Swamp Buffalo muscles raised with and without proper herd health

Fresh meat is composed of 70-75% water. Meanwhile, water holding capacity (WHC) affects storage quality, appearance, eating experience, and also contributes to loss of profit for meat entrepreneurs. WHC is influenced by the species, sex, breed, farming practices, as well as post-slaughter storage and handling. Swamp buffalo meat is leaner compared to cattle, goats, and sheep. Therefore, this study aims to determine the WHC of swamp buffalo muscles raised with two herd health programs at different aging periods. A total of 24 months old male swamp buffalo (n=4) was raised with a proper herd health protocol (HHP) and another (n=6) without a proper herd health protocol (NHHP). The drip loss (DL), thawing loss (TL), and cooking loss (CL) for longissimus dorsi (LD), supraspinatus (SS), and semitendinosus (ST) muscles were evaluated on day 1, 7, and 14. Based on the results, only SS and ST from NHHP showed significant differences (P≤0.05), while DL, LD, SS, and ST of the HHP and NHHP also differed significantly (P≤0.05). Furthermore, the TL and CL for all the muscles showed significant differences (P≤0.05) at day 7 of aging in the NHHP group, while on day 14, both were significantly higher in LD and ST muscles of NHHP compared to the HHP group. Therefore, the results showed that the muscles of the HHP group had a better WHC compared to NHHP.

Effects of Feeding and Maturation System on Qualitative Characteristics of Buffalo Meat (Bubalus bubalis)

We aimed to evaluate the effects of post dry ageing (PDA) period on meat colour and rheological characteristics in 16 buffalo bulls fed two different diets: with (FRS) or without (CTL) rye grass. Animals were randomly divided into two feeding groups and slaughtered at 540 ± 4.7 and 533 ± 7.0 kg of live body weight, respectively, for the CTL and FRS group. After five days post-mortem ageing (T0), Semitendinosus muscle (ST) and Longissimus muscle (LD) underwent a prolonged maturation process in a controlled meat chamber for 30 days (ST) and until 60 days (LD). After 30 days (T1), significant changes (p < 0.01) in meat colour (ΔE) in both muscles of the FRS group was recorded, while no significant change was observed in CTL group. The FRS diet had a positive effect on textural properties of ST muscle compared to CTL diet, as well as hardness, chewiness and gumminess. All qualitative characteristics improved in the first period of PDA but, whereas LD showed to keep improving, extending the post-ageing period by further 30 days, the ST becomes un-processable at 60 days. In conclusion, a combined used of fresh feeding and PDA period could enhance both tenderness and colour in animal fed FSR.

Biochemical and nutritional characteristics of buffalo meat and potential implications on human health for a personalized nutrition

The human consumption of food animal products is the main topic of an important debate among professionals in this sector: dietologists, dietitians and nutritional biologists. The red meat provides all the essential amino acids, bioavailable iron, zinc, calcium, lipids and B-group vitamins. A valid alternative to beef could be the buffalo meat. Italy is the largest European producer of buffalo meat and derivatives. The high nutritional characteristics of buffalo meat make it suitable to be included in the Mediterranean diet to customize it in relation to the needs and conditions of the population. Polyunsaturated/saturated fatty acids ratio can be influenced by diet, breed and type of breeding, but muscle tissue fat percentage is the main factor in determining a favorable fatty acid composition. This review focuses on the biochemical and nutritional characteristics of the buffalo meat (content of fats, cholesterol, amino acids, vitamins and minerals), explaining their variability depending on the different breeds, and the favorable implications on the human health. These results suggest that buffalo meat can be a healthier alternative to beef, not only for healthy people in particular physiological conditions (i.e. pregnancy), but also for persons at risk for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, thus achieving the goal of a personalized nutrition.