Table Of ContentIowa State University Capstones, Theses and
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Dissertations
2013
The effect of supplemental vitamin C on
performance, antioxidant capacity, carcass
characteristics, and meat quality of steers fed high
sulfur finishing diets
Danielle Jaye Pogge
Iowa State University
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Pogge, Danielle Jaye, "The effect of supplemental vitamin C on performance, antioxidant capacity, carcass characteristics, and meat
quality of steers fed high sulfur finishing diets" (2013).Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 13575.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/13575
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The effect of supplemental vitamin C on performance, antioxidant capacity, carcass
characteristics, and meat quality of steers fed high sulfur finishing diets
by
Danielle Jaye Pogge
A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Major: Nutritional Sciences (Animal Nutrition)
Program of Study Committee:
Stephanie L. Hansen, Major Professor
Steven Lonergan
James Russell
Daniel Loy
Michael Spurlock
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa
2013
Copyright © Danielle Jaye Pogge, 2013. All rights reserved.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................... vi
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... viii
CHAPTER 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION ...................................................... 1
CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ............................................... 4
Sulfur ................................................................................................................... 4
Sources of sulfur in feedlot cattle diets ......................................................... 4
Rumen sulfate reducing bacteria ................................................................... 7
Sulfur metabolism and toxicity ..................................................................... 8
High sulfur diets and cattle performance and meat quality .......................... 12
Sulfur interaction with other minerals .......................................................... 20
Sulfur summary .............................................................................................. 24
Oxidative Stress ................................................................................................... 25
Sulfur and oxidative stress ............................................................................ 26
Antioxidant biological systems ..................................................................... 29
Enzymes ............................................................................................... 29
Vitamins and glutathione ..................................................................... 31
Oxidative stress and live animal performance and meat quality .................. 33
Measures of oxidative stress ......................................................................... 39
Summary of oxidative stress ......................................................................... 42
Vitamin C ............................................................................................................ 42
Vitamin C bioavailability and transport ........................................................ 44
Vitamin C in circulation ................................................................................ 49
Influence of vitamin C on iron and copper absorption and metabolism ........ 52
Antioxidant interrelationships between vitamins C and E and glutathione ... 54
Vitamin C and adipocytes ............................................................................. 57
Vitamin C and glucose uptake by adipocytes ...................................... 60
Roles of the extracellular matrix .................................................................... 61
Extracellular matrix development and adipocyte differentiation ......... 62
Collagen production and the extracellular matrix ................................ 63
Extracellular matrix and muscle cell formation ................................... 66
Role of vitamin C in alteration of the fatty acid profile ................................. 66
Vitamin C and color and lipid stability ......................................................... 67
Vitamin C conclusion ................................................................................... 69
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CHAPTER 3 HIGH DIETARY SULFUR DECREASES THE RETENTION
OF COPPER, MANGANESE, AND ZINC IN STEERS ......................................... 88
Abstract .............................................................................................................. 88
Introduction ......................................................................................................... 89
Materials and Methods ........................................................................................ 90
Animals and experimental design ................................................................. 90
Statistical analysis ......................................................................................... 95
Result ............................................................................................................. 95
Dry matter intake, diet digestibility, and fecal and urine output ......... 95
Final plasma and liver mineral concentrations .................................... 96
Daily macro mineral intake, excretion, and retention .......................... 96
Daily micro mineral intake, excretion, and retention .......................... 99
Discussion ..................................................................................................... 100
Literature cited .............................................................................................. 107
CHAPTER 4 SUPPLEMENTAL VITAMIN C IMPROVES MARBLING
IN FEEDLOT CATTLE CONSUMING HIGH SULFUR DIETS .................... 118
Abstract ......................................................................................................... 118
Introduction ................................................................................................... 119
Materials and Methods .................................................................................. 120
Animals and experimental design ........................................................ 120
Sample collection and analytical procedures ....................................... 122
Statistical analysis ................................................................................ 125
Results ........................................................................................................... 126
Intake, growth, and performance ......................................................... 126
Indicators of sulfur exposure ............................................................... 127
Antioxidant measures .......................................................................... 128
Plasma and liver trace minerals ........................................................... 129
Carcass characteristics ......................................................................... 130
Discussion ..................................................................................................... 130
Literature cited .............................................................................................. 139
CHAPTER 5 INFLUENCE OF SUPPLEMENTAL VITAMIN C ON
POSTMORTEM PROTEIN DEGRADATION AND FATTY ACID PROFILES
OF THE LONGISSIMUS THROACIS OF STEERS FED VARYING
CONCENTRATIONS OF DIETARY SULFUR ................................................ 155
Abstract ......................................................................................................... 155
Introduction ................................................................................................... 156
Materials and Methods .................................................................................. 157
Animals and experimental design ........................................................ 157
Troponin T, µ-calpain, and protein carbonylation western blot
analysis ................................................................................................. 159
Iron concentration, lipid oxidation, and proximate analysis ............... 160
Fatty acid analysis ............................................................................... 160
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Statistical analysis ................................................................................. 162
Results ........................................................................................................... 162
µ-Calpain autolysis .............................................................................. 162
Troponin T degradation and protein carbonylation ............................. 163
Proximate analysis ............................................................................... 163
Iron concentration and lipid oxidation ................................................. 164
Fatty acid percentages and ratios ......................................................... 164
Discussion ..................................................................................................... 165
Literature cited .............................................................................................. 172
CHAPTER 6 EFFECT OF VARYING CONCENTRATIONS OF VITAMIN
C ON PERFORMANCE, BLOOD METABOLITES, AND CARCASS
CHARACTERISTICS OF STEERS CONSUMING A COMMON HIGH
SULFUR (0.55% S) DIET ......................................................................................... 186
Abstract .............................................................................................................. 186
Introduction ......................................................................................................... 187
Materials and Methods ........................................................................................ 188
Animals and experimental design ................................................................. 189
Sample collection and analytical procedures ................................................ 190
Statistical analysis ......................................................................................... 192
Results ................................................................................................................. 193
Intake and performance ................................................................................. 193
Blood metabolites ......................................................................................... 194
Carcass characteristics .................................................................................. 195
Discussion ......................................................................................................... 195
Literature cited .................................................................................................... 201
CHAPTER 7 INFLUENCE OF SUPPLEMENTAL VITAMIN C TO
YEARLING STEERS FED A HIGH SULFUR DIET DURING THE FINISHING
PERIOD ON MEAT COLOR, TENDERNESS AND PROTEIN DEGRADATION,
AND FATTY ACID PROFILE OF THE LONGISSIMUS MUSLCE ...................... 209
Abstract ............................................................................................................... 209
Introduction ......................................................................................................... 210
Materials and Methods ........................................................................................ 211
Animals and experimental design ................................................................. 212
Color analysis ................................................................................................ 213
Warner-Bratzler shear force determination .................................................. 214
Western blot analysis ..................................................................................... 215
Mineral concentrations .................................................................................. 216
Muscle content of collagen, vitamins C and E, and cholesterol ................... 216
Fatty acid analysis ......................................................................................... 218
Statistical Analysis .............................................................................................. 220
Results ................................................................................................................. 221
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Color analysis, Warner-Bratzler shear force, and mineral concentrations .... 221
Nutrient content of the longissimus thoracis muscle .................................... 222
Western blot analysis of µ-calpain autolysis and troponin T degradation ..... 222
Fatty acid percentages and ratios and individual fatty acid profiles ............. 223
Correlations ................................................................................................... 223
Discussion ......................................................................................................... 224
Literature cited .................................................................................................... 232
CHAPTER 8 IMPACT OF SUPPLEMENTING VITAMIN C FOR 56, 90,
OR 127 DAYS ON GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND CARCASS
CHARACTERISTICS OF STEERS FED EITHER A 0.31 OR 0.59% SULFUR
DIET .................................................................................................................. 245
Abstract ....................................................................................................... 245
Introduction ................................................................................................. 246
Materials and Methods ............................................................................... 247
Animals and experimental design ........................................................ 247
Sample collection .................................................................................. 250
Analytical procedures .......................................................................... 251
Statistical analysis ................................................................................ 252
Results ......................................................................................................... 253
Intake and performance ........................................................................ 253
Plasma ascorbate and glutathione .................................................. 254
Plasma ascorbate and glutathione ........................................................ 254
Liver mineral concentrations ............................................................... 255
Ultrasound measures ............................................................................ 256
Carcass characteristics ......................................................................... 257
Discussion ................................................................................................... 258
Literature cited ............................................................................................ 266
CHAPTER 9 GENERGAL CONCLUSIONS ................................................ 277
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
“I can’t go back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”
– Lewis Carroll
I would especially like to thank my major professor, mentor, and friend, Dr.
Stephanie Hansen, for accepting me as her first Ph.D. student and for all the encouragement,
guidance, and patience to step outside my comfort zone to grow as a scientist, writer, and
person. I also appreciate my committee members, Drs. Steven Lonergan, James Russell,
Daniel Loy, and Michael Spurlock, and for their time and dedication throughout my graduate
career.
To our postdocs, fellow graduate students, and office mates, especially Erin Richter,
Mary Drewnoski, Olivia Genther, Sara Morine, Erika Lundy, Megan Van Emon, and Jason
Russell, who have helped make my experience at Iowa State a memorable one! I appreciate
the countless hours of assistance with days at the farm, lab work, manuscript and proposal
editing, but mainly I want to thank you for your friendship and hours of laughter in the
office/lab. All of you have made a difference in my life, and none of you will be forgotten!
The Hansen lab undergraduates, especially Carmen Brasche, Kim Gerardy, and
Emma Niedermayer, a very special thank you for all your hard work and interest in research.
To members of the Lonergan lab, including Ed Steadham, Emily, Roslyn, and Kristin, thank
you for your guidance and assistance with all things Western blot related. I appreciate all the
hard work of the Iowa State Beef Nutrition farm staff, including Jim Dahlquist, Jeff, and
Kelly, to help my feedlot trials run smoothly.
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Finally, thank you to my parents Dan and Gail, sisters Justine and Sarah, and Aunt
Carrie for your encouragement, words of wisdom, and sympathetic ear (or at least pretending
to, Sarah) during the pursuit of my doctorate. I love you!
“You’re off to great places, today is your day;
your mountain is waiting, so get on your way.”
–Dr. Seuss
vi ii
ABSTRACT
The incorporation of ethanol industry co-products, such as dried distillers grains plus
solubles, to feedlot diets in the United States may be inadvertently exposing cattle to high
amounts of dietary sulfur. High sulfur diets have repeatedly been reported to decrease growth
and carcass performance, health, and copper status; however, little to no information is
available concerning the implications that high sulfur diets have on the antioxidant capacity
or meat quality of cattle. Thus, the subsequent research trials were designed to: 1) examine
the impacts of high dietary S on diet digestibility and macro and micro mineral absorption
and retention, 2) determine the effect of supplementing a rumen-protected vitamin C during
the entire finishing period of steers on growth performance, trace mineral status, antioxidant
capacity, carcass characteristics, and meat quality, 3) determine the optimal dose of
supplemental vitamin C within a high sulfur diet on growth performance, blood metabolites,
carcass characteristics, and meat quality, and 4) identify the influence of timing of vitamin C
supplementation during the finishing period on growth performance, plasma vitamin C and
glutathione concentrations, and carcass characteristics. Within our first research objective,
the consumption of a high sulfur diet for at least 28 days decreased copper, manganese, and
zinc retention in steers. These trace minerals are components of antioxidant enzymes,
suggesting a lesser availability of these minerals may decrease antioxidant capacity of the
animal. Within our second research objective, supplementing vitamin C (10 g per steer per
day) to calf-fed steers consuming a high sulfur (0.55%) diet for 149 days prevented a decline
in circulating ascorbate throughout the finishing period and increased marbling scores from
high Select to low Choice compared to the high sulfur, non-vitamin C supplemented steers.
The inclusion of vitamin C to the high sulfur diet prevented the ratio of oxidized-to-reduced
ix
liver glutathione from rising above the oxidative stress threshold of 10%, while a ratio of
28% was observed in the non-supplemented high sulfur steers, indicating some oxidative
stress was occurring. In postmortem muscle of these calf-fed steers, the ante-mortem
supplementation of vitamin C increased the presence of the fully autolyzed (76-kDa) subunit
of calpain-1, an enzyme involved in the tenderization process, and increased the
polyunsaturated fatty acid content of the longissimus thoracis compared to the un-
supplemented high sulfur steers. In yearling steers, increasing the dose of supplemental
vitamin C (0, 5, 10 or 20 g per steer per day) in a high sulfur (0.55%) diet linearly decreased
dry matter intake, tended to increase feed efficiency, and increased ribeye area. In
postmortem muscle, increases in vitamin E and iron and lesser meat lightness values were
noted within the vitamin C supplemented treatments compared to the un-supplemented
controls, while no differences in calpain-1 autolysis, shear force, or fatty acid profile of the
longissimus thoracis were observed. Finally, the addition of vitamin C (10 g per steer per
day) for the first 56, 90, or 127 days (entire finishing period) of finishing to calf-fed steers
consuming a low (0.31%) or high (0.59%) sulfur diet showed limited effects on performance
and carcass traits. The findings of our experiments yielded conflicting results of how
supplemental vitamin C is impacting finishing steer growth performance, carcass traits, and
meat quality; however, these differences may be attributed to individual animal variability or
differing genetics of the steers used in these studies. Further research is warranted to better
understand the mechanism by which vitamin C supplementation to finishing cattle is
influencing circulating ascorbate concentrations, marbling potential, and ribeye area.
