Content of Macro- and Microelements in the Meat of Young Bulls of Three Native Breeds (Polish Red, White-Backed and Polish Black-and-White) in Comparison with Simmental and Polish Holstein-Friesian

The material for the study consisted of 80 samples taken from the longissimus lumborum (LL) and semitendinosus (ST) muscles of young bulls of five breeds (8 samples of each muscle per breed), including three native breeds included in the genetic resources conservation programme, i.e. Polish Red, White-Backed and Polish Black-and-White, which together with the Simmental and Polish Holstein-Friesian breeds. The content of the elements (K, Na, Mg, Ca, Zn, Fe, Mn, and Cu) analysed in the meat of the young bulls (fattened in a semi-intensive system on fodder from permanent grassland) was found to depend (in varying degrees) on the breed of cattle. The greatest differences (P<0.01 and P<0.05) were noted between the Polish Holstein-Friesians (PHF) and the remaining breeds, mainly in the content of Mg, Ca, Zn and Mn. The results obtained in the four other breeds for most of the macro- and microelements were more uniform, with the highest content noted in the muscles of the young bulls of the native breeds.