Effects of restraint and isolation stress and epidural blockade on endocrine and blood metabolite status, muscle glycogen metabolism, and incidence of dark-cutting longissimus muscle of sheep1

Crossbred lambs (47.3 kg BW) were used to study the effects of restraint and isolation stress on endocrine status and blood metabolites, antemortem glycogenolysis, and incidence of the dark-cutting condition (DCC) in the longissimus muscle (LM) and to determine the role of muscle contraction in the formation of the DCC in sheep. Lambs were assigned randomly to three treatments: unstressed controls (C); a single 6-h period of restraint and...