[Cholesterol content in longissimus muscle beef from slaughter cattle in Venezuela].

An observational study was conducted with 149 cattle, raised under tropical conditions of Venezuela (mostly grassfed), to study the relationships of sex class (62 bulls, 67 steers, 20 heifers), age by dentition (2.5; 3.0; 3.5 and 4.0 yr), physiological maturity (A or B), cattle type (17 Dairy or 132 Zebu type crossbreds), Venezuelan carcass grade (Optima, Excelente, Selecta or Superior), marbling level (four levels from "None" to "Small quantity"), carcass fat cover (four level: "Even", "Uneven", "patch-like" and "Devoid") and subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT) over the ribeye (1 = 0.1-0.2 cm; 2 = 0.3-0.4 cm; 3 = 0.5-0.9 cm and 4 = > 1.0 cm) on cholesterol content (mg/ 100 g wet weight) of longissimus muscle. Cholesterol content, as determined colormetrically, did not vary in response to the differences in sex class, age, maturity level, carcass grade, marbling level or SFT represented in the present survey. However, cattle type affected (P = 0.08) cholesterol content. Least square means analysis showed that dairy type contained 12.2 mg more of cholesterol/100 g of muscle than Zebu type. The overall mean (+/- SD) muscle cholesterol for the kind of cattle sampled herein (66.6 +/- 16 mg/100 g) was not considered to be different from those of cattle fed in other latitudes.