Increasing meat production potential of beef cattle through manipulation of hormonal status regulating growth

a review

Abstract

Several methods of growth promotion in beef cattle are reviewed. They are a way of increasing meat production potential based on both rising of daily weight gain and a better carcass performance; at the same time they induce a metabolic shift towards more muscle and less fat deposition. Different techniques have been applied in order to get these goals, the most relevant ones being the administration of anabolic agents, the immunomodulation procedures and the gene transfer technique, whose mechanisms of action are exposed as well as their legal position at the European Union.