The effect of supplementing grass silage with fishmeal on growth, muscle composition and the rate of
muscle protein synthesis was investigated in young Friesian steers with and without
oestradiol implants. The effect of the
beta-adrenergic agonist cimaterol was simultaneously investigated in animals fed on silage alone. Treatments lasted for 9 or 10 weeks. Fishmeal supplementation significantly increased animal growth rates (P less than 0.001) and the weights of three dissected muscles (P less than 0.001) compared with the silage-fed controls. These effects were further enhanced in animals also implanted with
oestradiol. Muscle weights expressed as a proportion of
body-weight were increased by fishmeal, suggesting that
protein deposition had been enhanced. No further increase in the proportional muscle weights was obtained with
oestradiol. Muscle dry matter content tended to be increased in both implanted and non-implanted animals receiving fishmeal compared with controls, but the proportions of
protein, fat and ash were relatively constant. The intramuscular
lipid composition was slightly altered by fishmeal.
Muscle protein fractional synthetic rates (FSR), measured by continuous infusion of [3H]
tyrosine, were increased by fishmeal in all three muscles of both implanted and non-implanted animals. There were no differences, however, due to
oestradiol, over non-implanted fishmeal animals. This suggests that
oestradiol may increase muscle accretion by reducing protein degradation rate.
Cimaterol significantly increased longissimus dorsi (P less than 0.05) and vastus lateralis (P less than 0.01) muscle weights but had no effect on semitendinosus muscle weight or live-
weight gain. The proportion of
protein was increased (P less than 0.001) and the fat content reduced (P less than 0.05) in all three muscles but intramuscular
lipid composition was not markedly affected. Whilst
methylhistidine:
creatinine excretion was reduced by
cimaterol, FSR were increased in the l. dorsi and v. lateralis muscles suggesting beta-agonists have effects on both
protein synthesis and protein degradation.