Trop Anim Health Prod (2015) 47:1629–1631
DOI 10.1007/s11250-015-0902-8
SHORT COMMUNICATIONS
Effect of cassava bioethanol by-product and crude palm oil
in Brahman x Thai native yearling heifer cattle diets:
II. Carcass characteristics and meat quality
Chirasak Phoemchalard 1 & Suthipong Uriyapongson 1
Received: 10 April 2015 / Accepted: 5 August 2015 / Published online: 21 August 2015
# Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
Abstract This experiment was conducted to determine the
effects of cassava bioethanol by-product (CEP) and crude
palm oil (CPO) on the carcass characteristics and meat quality
of yearling heifer cattle. Eighteen crossbred Brahman × Thai
heifers were randomly allotted to 2×3 factorial arrangement
consisting of two levels of CEP (15 or 30 %, LCEP or HCEP)
and 3 levels of CPO (0, 2, and 4 %). The results obtained
showed that lean meat was greater (P<0.05) in HCEP-fed
cattle, but bone percentage and lean/bone ratio were less
(P<0.05) than LCEP-fed cattle. Carcass fat (P<0.05) and fat
content (P<0.01) were significantly increased with levels of
dietary CPO. Diets with 4 % CPO supplementation had better
effects on redness (a*, P<0.01) and chroma (C*, P<0.001)
values. In conclusion, up to 30 % CEP can be used to improve
lean carcass and 4 % CPO can improve the redness of the
meat.
Keywords By-product . Crude palm oil . Carcass
characteristics . Meat quality
Introduction
Bioethanol by-product from grains is the best known agro-
industrial by-product and is commonly used for animal pro-
duction. In several tropical countries, especially Thailand,
large quantities of cassava roots are used as feed stocks for
* Suthipong Uriyapongson
suthipng@kku.ac.th
1
Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Khon Kaen
University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand
bioethanol production (Sriroth et al. 2010), which leaves
many tons of by-product every year. However, there is a lack
of scientific data on its use in animal feed, especially the ef-
fects on carcass and meat quality.
Crude palm oil (CPO) contains a high concentration of
natural vitamin E (Trias and Tan 2012). Bloomberg et al.
(2011) studied the effects of vitamin E supplementation on
beef quality and found that it helps maintain meat color and
extend shelf-life.
In Thailand, the most abundant breeds of cattle are the Thai
native beef and the crossbred beef, which total 4.1 million
(Department of Livestock Development 2014). Steady de-
clines in rearing area, number of farmers and beef population
along with increasing beef demand are resulting in the use of
female cattle for meat production. A previous paper
(Phoemchalard et al. 2014) established that cassava bioethanol
by-product can be used up to 30 % in the diet of heifers. The
aim of the study reported in this paper was to investigate the
effects of cassava bioethanol by-product and crude palm oil on
the carcass characteristics and meat quality of yearling heifers.
Materials and methods
The experiment was conducted at Beef Cattle Farm of Khon
Kaen University, Thailand. Eighteen young crossbred Brah-
man × Thai heifers (130±14 kg) were randomly assigned to
receive low or high levels of cassava bioethanol by-product
(15 %, LCEP and 30 %, HCEP) and 3 levels of crude palm oil
(0, 2, and 4 % CPO) at 1.75 % of body weight and were fed
rice straw ad libitum. Roughage intake, concentrate intake,
and total feed intakes as %BW were decreased with level of
CPO; the combination of CEP and CPO affected nutrient di-
gestibility and growth performances were similar among treat-
ments (Phoemchalard et al. 2014).
1630 Trop Anim Health Prod (2015) 47:1629–1631

Table 1 Carcass characteristics and chemical composition of young heifers fed with cassava bioethanol by-product and crude palm oil

Items LCEP HCEP SEM Significance

CPO (%)
0 2 4 0 2 4 CEP CPO Int.

Slaughter weight (kg) 206 203 197 204 202 208 5.03 ns ns ns
Hot carcass weight (kg) 101 98 94 99 101 106 2.52 ns ns ns
Dressing percentage (%) 47.4 46.6 46.4 47.1 48.5 49.6 0.54 ns ns ns
Rib-eye area (cm2) 59.0ab 63.3a 54.0ab 55.4ab 52.4b 62.6a 1.51 ns ns *
Carcass composition (% of carcass weight)
Lean 76.2b 75.9b 74.6b 77.7a 77.3a 76.7a 0.33 * ns ns
Bone 20.5a 20.6a 21.3a 19.1b 19.1b 19.4b 0.32 * ns ns
Fat 3.33b 3.55ab 4.03a 3.15b 3.65ab 3.91a 0.10 ns * ns
Meat/bone 3.84a 3.79a 3.62a 4.18b 4.23b 4.07b 0.08 * ns ns
Chemical composition (%)
Moisture 73.1 73.0 72.9 72.8 72.8 72.7 0.07 ns ns ns
Protein 22.8 22.7 22.6 30.0 22.9 22.6 0.07 ns ns ns
Fat 2.99c 3.23b 3.43a 3.08c 3.26b 3.61a 0.06 ns *** ns
Ash 1.11 1.08 1.09 1.11 1.08 1.13 0.01 ns ns ns

Means in the same row with different lowercase letters differ (P<0.05)
LCEP low level of cassava bioethanol by-product, HCEP high level of cassava bioethanol by-product, CPO crude palm oil, Int. interaction, SEM
standard error of mean, ns no significant difference
*P<0.05; ***P<0.001

At the end of the 150-day feeding period, all animals were
fasted for 12 h and then randomly selected and slaughtered at a
commercial abattoir in a local area in Khon Kaen. Carcasses
were weighed and determined for dressing percentage. Cattle
carcasses were cut according to the Thai cutting style. All
experimental procedures were carried out following the ani-
mal welfare standards of Khon Kaen University. After
slaughtering, hot carcass weight and retail cuts were mea-
sured. Loin eye area between the 12–13th ribs was measured
by image analysis. Longissimus dorsi muscles were collected
and used to determine chemical composition and meat quality.
Meat compositions were analyzed according to the method
of AOAC (2012). Meat pH was evaluated at 24 h (pH24)
postmortem using a pH meter (HI223, Hanna Instruments,
USA). Meat colors were also measured at 24 h postmortem
using a Color reader (CR-10, Konica Minolta, USA). Drip
loss and cooking loss were determined according to the meth-
od of Honikel (1998). Shear force was measured on cooked

Table 2 Meat quality of young heifers fed with cassava bioethanol by-product and crude palm oil

Items LCEP HCEP SEM Significance

CPO (%)
0 2 4 0 2 4 CEP CPO Int.

pH 5.88 5.82 5.57 5.75 5.68 5.70 0.05 ns ns ns

Boiling loss (%) 31.71 31.04 31.15 31.96 30.54 28.21 0.16 ns ns ns
Drip loss (%) 4.20 4.14 3.99 3.86 4.09 3.54 0.49 ns ns ns
Shear force (kg/cm2) 4.21 4.23 4.25 4.20 4.23 4.16 0.09 ns ns ns
Lightness (L*) 34.23 33.65 33.95 34.69 33.44 33.35 0.42 ns ns ns
Redness (a*) 12.50b 13.40b 15.22a 13.16b 13.71b 15.34a 0.32 ns ** ns
Yellowness (b*) 8.46 9.03 8.26 8.89 7.13 7.95 0.28 ns ns ns
Chroma (C*) 15.13b 16.17b 17.36a 15.90b 15.47b 17.28a 0.28 ns * ns
Hue angle (h*) 33.98 33.98 28.40 33.84 27.40 27.51 1.13 ns ns ns

Means in the same row with different lowercase letters differ (P<0.05)
LCEP low level of cassava bioethanol by-product, HCEP high level of cassava bioethanol by-product, CPO crude palm oil, Int. interaction, SEM
standard error of mean, ns no significant difference
*P<0.05;**P<0.01
Trop Anim Health Prod (2015) 47:1629–1631
meat in boiling water at 80 °C until reaching an internal tem-
perature up to 70 °C; then the meat was cooled, cored
(1.27 cm), and cut by Warner-Bratzler shear force (G-R Elec.
Mfg. Co., Manhattan, KS 66502, USA).
All data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA)
in 2×3 factorial arrangements using PROC GLM of the Sta-
tistical Analysis Systems Institute (SAS 1998). Significance
was declared at P<0.05.
Results
There were similar values for slaughter weight, hot carcass
weight, and dressing percentage (Table 1). However, the com-
bination of CEP × CPO significantly affected the rib eye area
(P<0.05). Cattle-fed HCEP had more lean meat (P<0.05) but
lower bone percentage and lean-to-bone ratio (P<0.05) than
fed LCEP. Carcass fat composition significantly increased
with a higher level of CPO (P<0.05). Moisture, protein, and
ash contents were approximately 73, 23, and 1 %, respective-
ly. However, lipid content was the highest value in cattle fed
4 % CPO (P < 0.001). There were no significant effects
(P>0.05) of CEP × CPO or CEP on meat quality (Table 2).
However, the meat from cattle fed 4 % CPO significantly
improved in redness (P<0.01) and chroma (P<0.05).
Discussion
Lean meat from HCEP-fed cattle was increased by 6.1 %
when compared to LCEP groups, which showed a negative
relation on bone percentage and lean-to-bone ratio. Increasing
CPO levels in the diets increased carcass fat and fat deposi-
tion, similar to research of Nelson et al. (2008). Meat pH was
in the range of normal pH in meat. The overall shear force
value was 4.2 kg, which indicated intermediate tender (3.9<
WBSF<4.6 kg) (Belew et al. 2003). The boiling loss was
24 % less and the drip loss was 32 % more than those reported
by Waritthitham et al. (2010). This may be due to differences
in animal diets and age. The redness and chroma values were
higher in beef from high-CPO-fed cattle; however, these data
were similar to the reported values of González et al. (2014).
The darker color of beef heifers compared to non-CPO-
supplemented beef could be due to vitamin E content, which
was related to more myoglobin in the meat (Faustman et al.
2010). Moreover, the results from other studies on crossbred
Brahman × Thai native beef (Waritthitham et al. 2010), cross-
bred Angus × Nellore bulls (Andrade et al. 2014), and Nellore
steers (Fiorentini et al. 2015) showed redder beef than the beef
color reported in this study (20.8, 16.0, and 15.8 vs. 13.8).
Based on this study, supplementation of 30 % CEP had a
positive effect on lean carcass. The 4 % CPO-fed heifers re-
vealed beneficial effects on enhanced meat color.
1631
Acknowledgments The authors acknowledge financial support from
the Royal Golden Jubilee Ph. D. Program (Grant No. PHD/0169/2551)
and the Increased Production Efficiency and Meat Quality of Native Beef
and Buffalo Research Group, Khon Kaen University.
Conflict of interest The authors certified that they have no conflict of
interest.
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