Effects of Vitamin A Restriction on Carcass Characteristics, Antioxidant Capacity, Meat Quality and Meat Storage Period of Yanbian Yellow Cattle

Objective: To determine how dietary vitamin A (VA) level and duration affect intramuscular fat (IMF), meat quality, storage stability, and antioxidant gene expression in Yanbian yellow cattle.Methods: Twenty 15-month-old Yanbian yellow cattle (314.13 13.30 kg) were assigned to five treatments: CON (supplemental VA 2200 IU/kg DM), NVA1 (0 IU/kg DM supplemental VA for 180 d), NVA2 (0 IU/kg DM supplemental VA for 240 d), LVA1 (supplemental VA 1100 IU/kg DM for 180 d) and LVA2 (supplemental VA 1100 IU/kg DM for 240 d).Growth performance, carcass traits, physicochemical characteristics, and storage stability were measured.Serum biochemical and muscle antioxidant indexes were analyzed, and the mRNA expression of antioxidant-related genes (FOXO1, GSTA1, SOD) was quantified by qPCR.Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results:All VA-restricted groups showed higher IMF, marbling score, and lower muscle fiber diameter, drip loss, and shear force than the CON group (p < 0.05).Serum SOD and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels in the NVA1/NVA2 group were lower than those in the LVA groups and CON (p < 0.05).During storage, NVA2/LVA1/LVA2 had lower drip loss and shear force on days 1, 3, and 5 (p < 0.05); on day 7, b* was higher in NVA1/NVA2 than CON, and drip loss, cooking loss, and shear force were lower in NVA2, LVA1, and LVA2 than CON (p < 0.05).At the transcriptional level, antioxidant-related genes were upregulated across all VA-restricted groups, with FOXO1 and GSTA1 peaking in LVA1 and SOD elevated in all restricted groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion:Restricting dietary VA to 50% of the recommended level for 180 days significantly improved marbling, tenderness, and oxidative stability without compromising growth performance.These findings highlight a feasible nutritional strategy to enhance beef quality and extend shelf life in Yanbian yellow cattle.