Effects of uni and bilateral castration on growth performance and lipid metabolism in yellow cattle

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine the influence of uni and bilateral castration on growth performance and lipid metabolism in yellow cattle. Eighteen 9-month-old healthy yellow cattle (average body weight 184.03 ± 4.09 kg) were selected and divided into three groups: The uncastrated cattle (C), half castrated cattle (HC) and full castrated cattle (FC). The results showed that the growth rate of FC group was significantly reduced as compared to HC and C group, while the feed to gain ratio exhibited an opposite trend. The concentrations of triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) were increased significantly in FC group from day 60 to the end of the trial compared to HC and control groups. Serum testosterone concentration of FC group cattle was decreased from day 60 to 120 d of the trial compared to HC and control groups. The concentration of the lauric acid in FC cattle was significantly increased from the HC and control groups. In the FC group, the acetyl-CoA carboxylase alpha (ACACA), ACC and fatty acid synthase (FAS) gene expression levels were significantly higher compared to control and HC groups. Our results of this study suggest that bilateral castration increased the lipid metabolism and fatty acid composition compared to unilateral castrated and un-castrated cattle.

Highlights

• Bilateral castration alters the growth performance in yellow cattle.

• Bilateral castration alters hormones levels and lipid metabolites levels in serum.

• Bilateral castration improves the lipid metabolism and fatty acid profile.

Keywords:

• Uni and bilateral castration
• yellow cattle
• lipid metabolism
• growth performance
• hormones

Animal ethical code

The present research was done as per the rules of care of laboratory animals (2017 Revision) and distributed by the Chinese state council. The Sichuan Agricultural University Chengdu P.R China approved the code (SYXK-Chuan-2014-184) related to animal care and management.

Disclosure statement

All the authors declare there is no conflict of interest in the present research article.

Author contributions

Conceptualization, Ali Shah; Data curation, Jian Ma and Lizhi Wang; Formal analysis, Jian Ma, Rui Hu and Xiaohe Yao; Funding acquisition, Zhisheng Wang; Investigation, Bai Xue; Methodology, Ali Shah, Xiang Li and Quanhui Peng; Software, Rui Hu, Guangyang Li, Yixin Guo and Bai Xue; Supervision, Quanhui Peng; Validation, Zhisheng Wang; Writing – original draft, Ali Shah; Writing – review and editing, Ali Shah and Jian Ma.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the China Agriculture (Beef Cattle/Yak) Research System (CARS-37) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China [No. 31772630].