Effects of Coumestrol and Diethylstilbestrol on the Organoleptic Quality of Lamb.

A L T H O U G H Moule et al. (1963) have very adequately summarized data on reproductive disturbances and problems resulting from cattle and sheep grazing estrogenic pastures, relatively little research has been reported on the effects of the native estrogen, coumestrol (Bickoff et al., 1958), on the growth response and carcass quality of ruminant animals (Johnston and Anglemier, 1963; Oldfield, 1961; Stob et al., 1964). Moreover, the literature is almost void of information concerning the eating quality of meat produced from animals fed coumestrol, except for the preliminary reports of Fox and Oldfield (1962) and Oldfield and Fox (1963). On the presumption that many grazing animals are exposed to varying but biologically significant quantities of this estrogen, some evaluation of its effect on the quality of the product is deemed necessary. The research reported herein pertains to the effects of feeding different levels of dietary coumestrol on the organoleptic quality of lamb. Also investigated were the effects of diethylstilbestrol (DES) implantation superimposed on the coumestrol treatments.