Abstract
The feeder cattle reared on mountain pasture manifest the high productivity in the fattening stage, and the lipid and glucose metabolism in this stage were already discussed. The experiment reported here was designed to provide informations about the lipid and glucose metabolism of the cattle reared on mountain pasture (A group) as compared to those reared in drylot (B group). One hundred seven Japanese Black feeder cattle were used at middle and late stage of rearing. A group: These cattle were reared on mountain pasture at Sotoyama, Numajiri and Oita. B group: These cattle were reaed in drylot at Morioka and Gifu. These two groups were compared in regard to serum lipids and glucose levels. These levels of A group were lower than B group on the whole without reference to the ingestion of concentrate. This tendency was es pecially apparent in the levels of nonesterified fatty acid, trigryceride and glucose. From these results obtained here, it was presumed that the main factors of mountainous rearing environment, i. e. low oxygen tension, cold atmosphere and the increase of movement by the grazing on the slope, accelerated simultaneously the metabolic rate of cattle, and furthermore, as the result of the adaptation to such environments, the serum lipids and glucose levels of the feeder cattle reared in mountainous regions were lower than those of the cattle reared in drylot. It seemed that this physiological condition was characteristic of the feeder cattle reared on mountain pasture with reference to the lipid and glucose metabolism.
