Determination of body composition is very important in nutritional and growth regulation studies. However, determination of body composition by grinding and analyzing all tissues is unfeasible as an experimental routine. The objective of this study was to test methodologies for body composition estimation. Linear measurements and chemical composition of the 9-10-11th and 10th rib sections were used to estimate chemical composition of 31 Nellore (Zebu) intact males with an average 333.5 kg body weight (range of 180.5 to 496.0) and 16.1% empty body lipid (range of 10.6 to 22.1). Composition of ribs, carcass and empty body were obtained by quantitatively grinding, homogenizing and sampling all body tissues. The 9-10-11th composition was a good estimator of body composition with r² of 0.99; 0.98; 0.98 and 0.91 for estimates of kg water, lipid, protein, and ash; with low standard errors of the estimate. Results with the 10th rib cut were similar (r² of 0.98, 0.98, 0.97 and 0.88 for the same regressions). Data are in the range of published results, however coefficients of regression were statistically different from those published for Bos taurus populations. Rib cut composition is a good parameter for the estimation of chemical body composition, but specific equations must be used for Zebu animals.
bovinos; body composition; rib cut; zebu