Effect of castration on meat quality of simmental cattle

We investigated meat quality of Simmental cattle, aged from 17 to 21 months, after castration. Fifty healthy Simmental bull calves at 16 months of age were classified into two groups. Twenty-five were assigned to either the castrated or the uncastrated group according to their body weight. Both groups were fed the same diets according to their nutrient requirements during the 150 days of experiment. Our results showed that the myoglobin concentration of beef was higher in the castrated group than in the uncastrated group (P<0.01). Additionally, the pH was significantly lower in beef from castrated bulls (P<0.01), and the marble patterns, fat, dry matter, oleic acid, monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA)/saturated fatty acid (SFA), and MUFA/polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) contents were significantly high (P≤0.05). Stearic acid content tended to decrease in the castrated group than in the uncastrated group (0.05<P≤0.10). The results suggested that castration can promote the marbling grade of meat, improve the color, increase the content of fat and dry matter, and enhance oleic acid and unsaturated fatty acid content. We recommend castration at 1.5 years of age for Simmental cattle for optimum meat quality.