Chemical composition, fatty acid profile, including health indices of intramuscular fat, and technological suitability of the meat of young bulls of three breeds included in a genetic resources conservation programme fattened within a low-input system

Proximate composition and the proportions of 38 fatty acids (FA) were determined in the meat (m. longisimus lumborum and m. semitendinosus) of young bulls of 3 native Polish breeds (Polish Red - PR, White-Backed - WB and Polish Black-and-White - PBW) raised in a low-input system on a diet based on fodder from permanent grassland and slaughtered at the age of 18-20 months. The reference groups consisted of young bulls of the Polish Holstein-Friesian (PHF) and Simmental (SIM) breeds fattened in the same conditions. Breed was found to have a significant effect on the chemical composition, total collagen content and its proportion in total protein, protein hydration and net energy, as well as the FA profile, proportions and indices in the meat analysed. The technological properties of the native young bulls' meat showed intermediate values between the SIM (the most favourable) and the PHF (the least favourable) breeds. The beef obtained from the native breeds had more beneficial FA profiles (lower SFA and higher MUFA proportions), ratios (n6/n3 and h/H), and indices (AI and TI) than those from the PHF bulls. The meat of the two oldest Polish breeds i.e. PR and WB had significantly (P<0.01) highest levels of alpha-linolenic acid and PUFA/SFA with h/H ratios, and lowest (the most favourable) indices characterizing the health promoting quality of the fat - AI and TI. This should probably be associated with the pool of genes that remain conserved in these breeds.