The deposition and distribution of buffalo body fats play a vital role in the quality of the buffalo carcass and are of great commercial value, since the carcass quality influences the profitability and consumer acceptability of ruminant meat. The current study examined the effect a mixture of 4% bypass fat and 26% concentrate supplementations in buffalo basal diet had on both the carcass characteristics and the proximate and fatty acid composition in longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL), supraspinatus (SS) and semitendinosus (ST) muscles of Murrah cross and swamp buffaloes. In addition, profit and loss analyses were performed to determine the profitability. This study employed a completely randomized 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with two diets, two breeds and four replicates per treatment. A total of sixteen buffaloes (eight buffaloes per breed, bodyweight 98.64 ± 1.93 kg) were randomly assigned into two dietary groups. The first group was given Diet A, which consisted of 70% Brachiaria decumbens + 30% concentrate, whereas the second group was given Diet B, which consisted of 70% Brachiaria decumbens + 26% concentrate + 4% bypass fat. The buffaloes were fed for 730 days before slaughter. The results showed that supplemented bypass fat significantly (p < 0.05) increased the pre-slaughter weight, hot and cold carcass weights, meat:fat ratio, pH at 24 h, moisture and crude protein of LTL, ST and SS, the ether extract of LTL and ST and the meat fatty acid of C16:0, C16:1, C18:1, PUFA n-6/n-3 and total MUFA. The carcass yield and carcass fat percentages, the ash content in ST, the EE in the SS muscle and the meat fatty acid of C18:3, total PUFA n-3, UFA/SFA and PUFA/SFA were significantly (p < 0.05) decreased. Furthermore, Murrah cross showed a significantly (p < 0.05) higher pre-slaughter weight, hot and cold carcass weights, carcass bone percentage and total fatty acid, but a lower (p < 0.05) meat:bone ratio, ash of LTL and CP of LTL and ST when compared to swamp buffaloes. No significant changes were found in the proximate composition of different types of muscle, but the ST muscle revealed significantly high C14:0, C16:0 and C18:1, and the SS muscle had high C18:2 and total fatty acid (p < 0.05). Supplementing using bypass fat increased the cost of buffalo feeding but resulted in a higher revenue and net profit. In conclusion, the concentrate and bypass fat supplementations in the buffalo diet could alter the nutrient compositions of buffalo meat without a detrimental effect on carcass characteristics, leading to a higher profit.

Swamp buffaloes are mostly raised under an extensive system because they can adapt to the harsh environment. However, exploring the rumen mucosa (RM) morphology and volatile fatty acids (VFA) of swamp buffalo associated with different production systems is still lacking. This study evaluated the rumen VFA and morphology of RM between two groups of buffalo raised under semi-intensive (SI) and an extensive system (EX). VFA was analysed using gas chromatography. The morphology of rumen mucosa was evaluated macro and microscopically for papillae length and width, surface area, density, and muscle thickness, and the microscopic evaluation for stratified squamous epithelium (SSE) and keratin thickness. SI has a greater VFA concentration than the EX. The SSE layer on the dorsal region of the rumen was thicker in the EX group than in the SI group (p≤0.05). Within the group, the SSE of the dorsal region of rumen was thicker than the ventral region (p≤0.05) in the EX group. However, the ventral region of the rumen was thicker than the dorsal region in the SI group. The thickness of the keratin layer in the EX group was significantly thicker than the SI group (p≤0.05) only on the dorsal region. In conclusion, swamp buffalo from the SI production system has a greater concentration of volatile fatty acid than the EX-group contributed by feeding management under a semi-intensive system. Nevertheless, the advantage in VFA concentration alone is not sufficient to conclude semi-intensive production system exerts a favourable effect on the morphology of the rumen mucosa.