Evaluating Beef Fatty Acid Composition and Lipid Quality in Response to Silage Type and Feeding Intensity During the Finishing Phase

Abstract

The quality of beef fat depends on both intramuscular fat (IMF) content and fatty acid (FA) composition, which can be modulated by finishing diets. This study evaluated the effects of silage type and feeding intensity on IMF deposition, FA profile, desaturase indices, and lipid quality indices in finishing Holstein–Friesian bulls. Thirty-two bulls were assigned to a 2 × 2 factorial design (n = 8/group) and fed total mixed rations for 120 days based on grass silage or maize silage, under intensive (≈50:50 forage:concentrate, DM basis) or semi-intensive feeding (≈70:30). FA composition of <i>longissimus lumborum</i> lipids was determined by GC-FID, and lipid quality indices were calculated, including the atherogenic index (AI), thrombogenic index (TI), and the hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic ratio (h/H). Feeding intensity increased IMF content (<i>p</i> = 0.001) and the absolute amounts of major FA classes (g/100 g meat). Silage type primarily affected FA composition by increasing n-3 PUFA and lowering the n-6/n-3 ratio in grass silage diets (<i>p</i> = 0.042). Several FAs showed silage type × feeding intensity interactions (<i>p</i> < 0.05), indicating that the response to dietary energy supply depended on the forage base. Overall, feeding intensity mainly regulated lipid deposition, whereas silage type modulated the nutritional profile of intramuscular fat.