Trans-18:1 and conjugated linoleic acid profiles after the inclusion of buffer, sodium sesquicarbonate, in the concentrate of finishing steers

Ninety-six European crossbred steers were fed a barley-based finishing diet for differing lengths of time (34–104 days) to investigate if adding dietary buffer (sodium sesquicarbonate at 1.5% as fed) could improve the trans-18:1 (GC-FID) and CLA (Ag+-HPLC-DAD) content and isomeric profile of beef produced. Results indicate that the addition of buffer to diets of cattle fed high concentrate diets has limited effects on the overall fatty acid composition of backfat and muscle tissues. However, buffer addition can help to prevent a 10t- shift by maintaining a better (higher) 11t-/10t-18:1 ratio in both meat and backfat during the first 30–60 days of feeding a high grain diet. Over time, however, the effect is lost becoming equal in tissues from animals with or without buffer addition to their diets.