Effect of vitamin blend supplementation on the oxidative stability and beef quality parameters of Nellore cattle

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of supplementation of B vitamins, fat-soluble vitamins (ADE), and combination of B+ADE on beef quality parameters and antioxidant status. Forty young Nellore bulls were allocated randomly across four treatments: no vitamin supplementation (Control); B vitamins supplementation (B); fat-soluble vitamins supplementation (ADE); and ADE + B supplementation. At the end of a 140-day trial, samples were collected to perform analysis of meat quality parameters and status activity of antioxidant enzymes at 1 h, 24 h, 192 h and 360 h post mortem. Treatments had no significant on pH24h, sarcomere length, meat color (L*, b*, chroma) or fat color (L*, a*, b*) of the longissimus lumborum muscle at 24 h, 192 h and 360 h post mortem between treatments B, ADE or ADE+B in relation to the control treatment. Furthermore, no significant changes were observed in the redox form of myoglobin (OMb, DMb, MMb) 24 h post mortem. However, the ADE and ADE+B treatments resulted in a higher percentage of intramuscular fat in the longissimus lumborum muscle when compared to the control treatment. Greater myofibrillar fragmentation index at 24 h, 192 h and 360 h, higher levels of oxymyoglobin at 192 h and 360 h, lower levels of metmyoglobin at 360 h were detected in the ADE and ADE+B treatments when compared to the control treatment. Furthermore, ADE increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) at 192 h and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) at 360 h compared to the control treatment, while ADE and ADE+B treatments increased FRAP at 24 h and 192 h, and catalase (CAT) at 192 h Moreover, ADE and ADE+B treatments decreased glutathione peroxidase (GPx) at 24 h and decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) content at 24 h and 360 h when compared to the control treatment. The use of ADE and ADE+B favored the formation of oxymyoglobin, prevented the oxidation of myoglobin, increased the ferric reducing antioxidant power and impaired lipid oxidation at different periods of ageing.