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ARS Home » Plains Area » Lubbock, Texas » Cropping Systems Research Laboratory » Livestock Issues Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #431199
Research Project: Environmental and Management Influences on Animal Productivity and Well-Being Phenotypes

Location: Livestock Issues Research

Title: Antemortem stress influences oxidative stress and meat quality during retail display

Author
item BARKER, SAMANTHA - Tarleton State University
item KOHL, KESLEY - Texas Tech University
item Sanchez, Nicole
item Broadway, Paul
item BRATCHER, CHRISTY - Mississippi State University
item LEGAKO, JERRAD - Texas A&M University

Submitted to: Meat and Muscle Biology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/11/2026
Publication Date: 4/3/2026
Citation: Barker, S.N., Kohl, K.B., Sanchez, N.C., Broadway, P.R., Bratcher, C.L., Legako, J.F. 2026. Antemortem stress influences oxidative stress and meat quality during retail display. Meat and Muscle Biology. 10:22119. https://doi.org/10.22175/mmb.22119.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22175/mmb.22119

Interpretive Summary: Stress exposure is unavoidable and leads to activation of many systems in the body. Additionally, stress experienced prior to harvest in cattle can affect meat quality. This may be because of increases in oxidative stress caused by the breakdown of lipids. A study was conducted by ARS scientists in Lubbock, Texas and university collaborators to evaluate the effect of stress prior to harvest on measures of oxidative stress and meat quality. In this study, calves were exposed to no stressor, immune activation, vaccination, or transportation. The results from this study found that oxidative stress increased because of decreased antioxidant capacity during stress exposure. Further, transportation events contribute the greatest to decreased meat quality. More research is needed to study methods for minimizing oxidative stress prior to harvest. These data will be of interest to those in the field of physiology and meat science, and to cattle producers.

Technical Abstract: The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of production stressors on live animal oxidative stress responses and post-mortem meat quality. Dairy steers (n = 40; 110 ± 11.8 kg BW) were randomly allotted to 1 of 4 treatment groups (n = 10 per treatment): 1) Control, 2) Transport; 4 h transport period, 3) Lipopolysaccharide (LPS; i.v administration 0.10 µg/kg BW), 4) Vaccine (Mannheimia haemolytica toxoid vaccine; OneShot, Zoetis). Calves were fitted with indwelling jugular catheters on d -1. Plasma was isolated from whole blood at -1, -0.5, 0, 1, 2,3, and 4 h relative to application of treatments on d 0. Plasma was used to evaluate indicators of oxidative stress via colorimetric assays. Calves were humanely euthanized at 6 h after treatment application, where the entire Longissimus dorsi (LD) was collected, vacuum packaged, and aged 7 d post-mortem. The LD from each calf was fabricated into 2.54 cm thick steaks and allotted to retail display for 0, 3, 6, or 9 d. Steaks aged 9 d were evaluated for instrumental and trained color evaluation every 12 h. All steaks were analyzed for malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations after aging. Time of treatment application or display, treatment type, and their interactions were analyzed with calf as a repeated measure using the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS. Total antioxidant capacity was greatest (P < 0.001) across all challenge points for transport calves compared to other treatments ante-mortem. Discoloration was greatest in LPS and transport calf steaks toward the end of retail display (P = 0.011). Retail display × treatment (P = 0.01) resulted in the greatest concentration of MDA in transport calf steaks (P < 0.001. These data suggest that when stress is not managed properly ante-mortem, it may contribute to decreased color and lipid stability in post-harvest meat products.