RESUMO
The aim was to identify the predominant variables in the differentiation of meat quality of cattle submitted to surgical castration, immunocastration, or non-castration and finished in a tropical pasture. Thirty-nine crossbred cattle were used and distributed in three treatments: i) surgical castration; ii) immunocastration; and iii) non-castration, with an initial mean age of 14.06±0.72 months and a mean weight of 284.10±31.40 kg. We used the principal component analysis to differentiate the qualitative meat characteristics between the treatments. Based on that analysis, we found that the first three principal components explained 71.44% of the total variation in the meat quality data, which ensures that the variation found is associated with the effect of the treatments. The characteristics correlated with the first three principal components and responsible for the discrimination between sexual conditions were subcutaneous fat thickness, instrumental meat color, cooking loss and shear force. These characteristics were similar among castrated animals, regardless of the methods. Therefore, immunological castration preserves the attributes of the meat and prevents possible damage to the physical and mental integrity of the animals. Finally, principal component analysis is an important methodology in the objective investigation of beef meat attributes.